High School's Past
by SuzzieD
Summary: L.A. Laker star Troy Bolton comes home after a bad break up. His visit comes as a shock to Gabriella and soon finds herslef being thrown back into a past she tried so hard to forget. She vows to help him after his car accident, but can she help herself!
1. Chapter 1

**After a recent break up with 5 year girlfriend, Sharpay Evans, Troy Bolton goes home, only to realize the past he left behind has hurt more people than he intended.**

**Home Sweet Home**

He stood there; rage and pain surging through his veins as he regained his balance. Troy watched the half naked heap fall to the ground, followed by the screams of his, once, everything. His hands were shaking from the punch he had delivered to the all too perfect face of her secret lover, swinging his head to move his heavy wet hair.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sharpay screamed at him. She hated him, that much he knew, but he didn't care. This stranger had taken away everything he ever loved and cared about. She didn't stop him. She wanted him to take her away from Troy. She loved this stranger, he could since it. The realization infuriated Troy as he yelled back at her.

"What's wrong with me? You're the one cheating on me with this piece of shit!" He took a step towards the stranger whom held his position on the bedroom floor.

He wasn't expecting the amount of sheer pain that shot through his face as Sharpay slapped him. Her blonde hair was wild as she forced him to look at her. He was much taller than Sharpay, being that he was a basketball player. Troy Bolton was a Laker, born and raised to love the game of Basketball. Sharpay stayed with him all through college, and his first season as a Laker, cheering for him at every game. Why was she leaving him now?

His eyes involuntarily filled with wet, salty tears as he looked down into her eyes. The eyes that were once his, but now this stranger's. Troy still loved her, and that thought sent the tears down his cheek.

"Why?" That's all he could force out of his dry mouth. Why did she not love him? Why did she lie to him? Why was this man better than him?

Sharpay sensed the hurt in his words, his eyes, not wet with tears His eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that were once filled with love and security, but were now filled with pain. Her heart fell as she watched him cry. She had done this. It was her fault. She cheated on him with her very own acting coach. The very coach that Troy had suggested to her after she was rejected her first role in a show her at the University of California, Berkley. She had not only slept with him once, but many times, while Troy was at basketball practice, or just out of town. Troy had been her world all through college, but now, now she had no one, well she had Brad, but that's another story. She loved Troy, she did, but he would never forgive her for this. Even if he did, she wouldn't come back, knowing that she would end up hurting him again. Troy didn't deserve this kind of humiliation. She had to answer him, though; she knew it would hurt him.

"I don't know."

Troy turned his head to the side and chuckled as more tears fell.

"Troy…"

"Just tell him babe." Brad's voice sounded; probably at the worst moment possible.

Troy looked over at the mystery man, whom was now standing after having been punched. He was now standing next to Sharpay, as if protecting her from him. Little did he know, Sharpay was not the one needing protection, it was this man.

"Who are you anyways?" His voice was hard and angry.

Brad stood up a little taller and faced Troy. "Brad."

Brad. Troy knew that name. The memories of Sharpay saying she needed an acting coach and Troy hiring one for her cam swirling back to him.

_Fuck! How could I have been so blind!_

Sharpay saw the click in Troy's head when he learned the mystery man's name. She couldn't help but react. "Troy, I can explain…."

Troy lashed out, furious at how she repaid him. "Explain what? That you're a cheating whore? That you slept with Brad more than once? What! Help me out Shar, because I'm extremely confused!!" He didn't really mean to scream, but every muscle in his body was telling him to. To let go of her before he broke into a million pieces. She was crying now, but he didn't care. She slept with another man.

"You were never around!"

"What?! I was with you all the time."

"Yes, you were with me physically, but not mentally, Troy. You're head was always at basketball practice! You stopped caring at me along time ago!"

Troy stood there in shock. How could she say that? She was his life, the very air he breathed; his very soul. He slowly took a step towards her and put his hand on her cheek.

"I never stopped caring about, Sharpay. I love you." The words came out shaky, but it was meaning behind them.

"Ya, well, you're too late now, buddy." Brad really was the dumbest human known on earth.

Sharpay spun around and glared at Brad. That was enough for Troy. Quickly, but gently, he pushed Sharpay out of the way and tackled Brad to the ground. This man, this sad excuse for a male had taken his life. Troy could have killed him at any second, but he wanted this 'Brad' to remember him. To remember what he did.

Sharpay watched in horror as she watched Troy's fist connect with Brad's face. A cracking sound could be heard with every blow he delivered. She had to stop him before he did something stupid. She ran up to Troy and grabbed his arm as it went down to strike Brad again.

Instantly, his eyes shot up to meet Sharpay's. She was crying and tugging at him to get off of Brad. The hesitation gave Brad enough time to deliver a swift blow to Troy's gut. He doubled over and fell to the side, as Brad jumped up and ran to Sharpay's side. His face was bleeding profusely, probably form his broken nose.

Slowly, Troy crawled over to a corner in Sharpay's bedroom and rests his back up against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. No matter how many times he hit Brad, he would never get Sharpay back. This was a fact he didn't want to accept, but knew was true. It was over; he had lost.

After taking a couple of minutes to regain his strength, he stood up and headed out the door, stopping in the doorway. He reached into his jacket pocket and set down a small black box.

He spoke before turning around "I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone."

Troy and Sharpay, class of 2004's cutest couple, were finally over. Rage poured into Troy's fist as he uncontrollably punched the steering wheel of his black Audi. His body stiffened with the UN wanting sound of Sharpay's ring tone. Furry poured through him as he tossed his brand new IPhone out the passenger window and continued down the long black freeway. He would forget her, no matter what it took.

He had driving for what felt like days, with no knowledge of where he was. A sign on the side of the road told him he was in Albuquerque. He needed comfort. Someone to hold him and tell him that everything would be o.k. There was only one person he could think of. One person he hadn't seen in 5 years. The only women he has loved his whole life.

Mommy.

She could always mend the cracks in his heart, especially because he was her only child, her only family, since Troy's father, Jack Bolton, had died Troy's Senior year of high school. He wasn't the only one that had died though. Chad, Troy's best friend, had died that night, along with half of the basketball team. Troy walked away from the car wreck with a few scratches. It was all his fault, and he knew it, but that story will come back later. For now, all he wanted was his mother and the loving comfort of her arms around him. It has been 5 years too long.

Home Sweet Home.

Soooooooooo, what did you think????? Let me know if I should continue this Story. Gabriella will show up in the next Chapter, yes this is a Troyella story!!! Let me know what you think, kk. Thanks, SuzzieD


	2. Coward

**OMG!!! So, I've never gotten so many story alerts so quickly before!!! You guys are amazing!! So, ya, keep up the reviews, I totally appreciate them all!!!! So I'm sorry, I wanted to upload way sooner, but I'm just so busy with work and all, so ya. I'll try and the get ch.3 out today too!!**

**2. ****Coward**

Troy slowly made his was up the long, dark pathway to the brown door that laid right ahead. He could wait to see her again. She would cry, that much he knew, but he had to stay strong. If he were to start crying, he would never be able to stop.

She swung the door open and stared at the figure in front of her. Her son. Her one and only son, Troy, was back.

" Hey, mom."

Troy had to grab the post next to him as he tried to keep his balance while his mother threw herself into his arms. She was crying hysterically. He tried, with all his might, to hold back the tears that were lingering behind his eyes.

After a couple of moments longer, she stepped down and took a good look at her, now, 23 year old son. He had grown up so much. His once long hair was now longer, covering part of his right eye. He had grown much taller, probably about 6'5" now, and had much broader shoulders. Troy was a man now, and looked awfully a lot like his father. She sniffed a couple of times before smacking him, playfully.

"Hey, what was that for?"

She smiled her sweet motherly smile. "That's for not calling or visiting." All that didn't matter now though. He was home for Christmas and that's all that mattered

Troy managed a small smile before answering. "I'm sorry, mommy."

"Ya, you better be, now let's get you inside. You've come a long way haven't you?"

"Um, ya." He tried hard to not remember where he had just come from.

"Are you hungry, thirsty, anything?"

He smiled. "Actually, I know it's late, but.."

"No, no, go ahead. You can have anything you like."

Troy smiled big. "I've really missed your signature cucumber sandwiched. You know, the ones you used to make me when I was little?"

His mother really did make the Best cucumber sandwiches in the world. It may be a simple sandwich, but when it's made by your very own mother, it tastes all that much better. She always seemed to put the perfect amount of mayonnaise and salt on them, with the perfect amount of cucumber slices.

"Of course." She stated, obviously thrilled that her son remembered his favorite foods she used to make him. So he hadn't completely forgotten her.

She made her way over to the refrigerator and pulled out the cucumbers and mayonnaise. "So, what brigs you here?

Troy sat down at the kitchen table and looked away. He had mentally forgotten about Sharpay and the highly interesting first meeting of her secret lover. His cheek still hurt from the slap she delivered right across face.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Sharpay…broke up with me." He couldn't bring himself to mention Sharpay's secret lover. He would have lost himself completely, and now was not the time to cry. Not yet, at least.

She put down her knife and headed over towards her depressed son. She knew they had been in love when they ran off together, and she knew her son well enough to know that break ups were just as hard for him. She hated seeing him like this.

"What happened, hunny?"

He hesitated. "She…stopped loving me, I guess." He sighed. Sharpay was his first real love ,and he'd be dammed if she was the last. He cringed in pain as his mother softly put her hand on his burning cheek.

"Wha- what's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"NO, no, she…she slapped me, right across the face. It still hurts, I guess."

"She, hit, you?!" Her voice was filled with shock and confusion. "Troy, hunny, what did you do?"

What did HE do?! He did nothing wrong, but he still wasn't ready to tell her the truth. He decided to just lie. He could tell her later. "I…screamed at her for wanting to leave me. I may have called her a few names." He sighed. "I love her, mom, I still love her."

She put her arms around her growingly pained son to try and comfort him. What could she say? Were there any words to comfort him in this state, besides, 'everything will be o.k.'? Sorry wouldn't men the rapidly growing whole, but it was a start. "I'm sorry, Troy."

"It's not your fault." It was all his fault. How could he have let this happen? He was pathetic. All he could do was turn away from his mother. He needed a moment to think. "I'm gonna go and use the bathroom." He got up, leaving a worried mother to think about what she would say next.

Gabriella awoke to the agonizingly high pitched scream of her alarm clock. Wearily, she rolled over and slammed her hand on top of the clock to shut it up. 4 a.m. glowed off the screen as she moaned. She had forgotten to switch the alarm off after being fired as a life guard at the Lava Springs, resort and Spa. They were finally through with a quite, but stubborn Gabriella Montez. There was no need to be there anyways. All her friends had left for college; even the man, whom was her sole reason for taking the job in the first place, had gone away. She would deny it time and time again, but Troy Bolton, the school's superman, amazed her. It wasn't his looks, or his charm, or his basketball skills for that matter; it was the Troy, whom she believed to have only come out for her. Gabriella would never forget their first real encounter, but that story will come later.

An extremely tired and annoyed Gabriella slowly pulled herself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. It had been months since she was able to enjoy a nice long hot shower. She was going to enjoy her first real day off, even if it killed her.

Her body shuddered as the piercing cold water hit her naked frame, slowly turning warm. She could breathe, finally. There was no, 'Gabriella we need you' or 'Gabriella, where are you'. It was just her and her shower head.

She let the hot relaxing water hit her body for a while before cleaning up and getting ready for the new day. There was just one thing she had to do.

Troy sat up and looked around. The room looked exactly as he had left it 2 yrs ago. He had been tossing and turning all night long. The pictures of his old high school buddies stared down at him. Troy felt as if the people in the pictures would jump out of their frames and haunt him in his sleep. They were all gone. All of them, and it was all his fault. The sight of his old friend hurt him. He was supposed to have taken care of him, but in the end, killed him. Troy would never forgive himself.

It was time. He needed to see his friend one more time. Troy had gone to the funeral, but missed the burial. There was no way in hell he was going to watch his best friend be lowered into the ground; not when it was his fault. Troy grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. He was going to see Chad.

Troy arrived at the grave yard around 6 a.m. The sky was lit up with a b right orange and pink color as he made his way towards Chad's grave. He just stood there, staring at the tombstone ahead of him, daring him to read its contents. Troy couldn't help but let out the tears that had been taunting him all morning.

"Chad, I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. You'd still be here if it wasn't for me. Please, forgive me." His legs buckled as he fell to his knees. Troy couldn't help but cry. Being a basketball star had been Chad's dream since kindergarten, and Troy had that dream. He really didn't deserve it; he was a coward. "I'm so sorry buddy. You were always looking out for me but I never looked out for you. I'm sorry." He willingly looked up at the sky, hoping, praying, that he could see his best friend one more time. "I love you man."

"You two had the best friendship anyone would ever know."

Troy just kneeled there. That voice; that soft innocent voice. He had heard it before, countless times. Gabriella Montez. She was Chad's girlfriend, well was his girlfriend till a week before the accident when she became his fiancée. They had been in love, their was no doubt, and he destroyed that.

Troy slowly stood up and turned around. Blue meeting brown for the first time in 5 years. He smiled. "Gabriella Montez."

"Troy Bolton."

Wow, he had definitely changed since high school. He was hot back then, but now, it seemed as if he had just stepped out of a magazine. His blue shirt lightly touching his stomach, revealing his abs, the sleeves rolled up just past his elbows. The dirty blonde hair slightly covering his right eye, causing his trancing blue eyes to pop out, daring you to loose yourself in their stare. He was smiling at her. She shivered at the very sight. "Long time no see."

"How are you?"

How was she, well, how was she? Her 3rd attempt at a real relationship just ended, she lost her job, and, her fiancé was still dead. She was just peachy.

"I'm alive, yourself?"

"Well, I'm better now." He'll tell her later, maybe.

Gabriella looked over at Chad's grave. She walked over and placed a single red rose on top of it. God how she missed him. Everybody keeps telling her to let go, to forget, but what they don't know, is that she can't. She's tried to move on, she has, but Chad was her everything, then he just left with no warning. She couldn't even say good bye. When she walks down the street, she can still see Chad's face on every face, toying with her emotions. It's not fair. He'll never go away.

Troy can see that Gabi is trying hard not to cry. Why can't she just let it go? She would feel soo much better if she just let it all out. Then the unexpected happened. As if she was reading his thoughts, she let it all out in one, swift, blow.

Gabriella jumped back. Had she just done that? She stared at Troy, wide eyed, as she looked upon the hand shaped red mark that was slowly appearing on his left cheek. He deserved it. He let her down. He left her when she needed him the most, but she couldn't ignore the sheer guilt that weighted her down. He stared back, confusion, anger and surprise evident in those piercing blue eyes.

"What the hell was that for?" How could she do that? It had been 5 years since they've seen each other and all she can do is hit him!

Anger rose deep inside her, taunting her, pushing her to her limits to kill Troy at the very moment. "Oh, don't act like you don't know!"

"What are you talking about?"

Troy could barely feel the left side of his face. That was the second time he had been hit in less than 12 hours. Did he really deserve it?

Was he really that dense? That he really didn't realize just how much more pain he caused everyone after leaving with Sharpay? "You're a coward Bolton. You are a disgrace to Chad's memory."

WHAT!?!? How could she say that? Chad was his best friend, practically his brother, and she says that he's a disgrace. "I thought you said we had the best friendship any one would ever know?"

She was yelling now, but she didn't care. "How could you just walk out on everybody like that, on Chad! We needed you, I needed you, and you just left." She couldn't help but sob. The memories of the accident came swirling back to her in one instant flash. The news of the crash, the weeks in the hospital, the funeral, everything.

"Gabriella…" No one had ever confronted him about his actions before. Not his mother, or, or. That was it. Every single friend he ever had was gone, and it was all his fault. "I didn't know…"

"Of course you didn't know, because you weren't there. You were a coward!" Gabriella never wanted to be so harsh or blunt, but, he anger that had been held in for so long was now getting the chance to finally surface, exploding into the sun. She convinced herself that it was for his own good. He needed to know.

Troy put his head down. He didn't deny being a coward. For years he had been convincing himself he wasn't, but that word had never been uttered by another voice around, or even at him. The word stuck at him, burning his skin. Troy couldn't help but look up and into Gabriella's eyes; those eyes, those chocolate eyes, staring at him, ready to strike for the kill at any moment. He had done this. It was his fault.

Troy stood there for a second, watching Gabriella cry. Enough was enough, he was going home. He turned around and headed back towards his car.

Gabriella stood up. "There we go. Typical Troy fucking Bolton, running away from his problems, again. You're pathetic."

Troy spun around on his heels. He didn't deserve this. She had no idea what he went through. Sure she lost her fiancé, but he lost much more than that; every one. He was alone, and she was calling him pathetic. Rage was surging through him as he stalked right up to Gabriella, his nose inches from hers. "You have no idea what I've been through!"

How dare he threaten her like that. She hit him hard on the chest and pushed him away from her. "No, Troy, I don't, because you left, you coward!"

Troy clenched his jaw. He was about to break and he knew it. He couldn't, not here, not now. Troy took a step back, turning away. "Stop it."

She started following him. What, you can't handle the truth, you coward."

He had to ignore her; just get into his car and drive away.

She pushed him from behind, crying hysterically. "Fine, you coward, run away like you always do, you pathetic piece of shit!"

Troy stopped. He let her hit his back for a couple of seconds before he spun around. 'ENOUGH!!"

Gabriella felt herself crumble, ripping into millions of tiny pieces. Her knees buckled, sending her into the cold, damp grass; she wept. Everything she held in, every piece of her heart that was stored away when he left was seeping through, testing her self control. She let it all out.

Troy just stood there. What should he do? What can he do? Walking away would solve nothing, yet, staying would only cause her more pain. More pain than he could possibly handle in one morning. He decided leaving was for the best.

"Why did you run?" Her voice was soft, forcing him to turn around and look at her, still kneeling on the ground.

The sight of her and the pain he had caused her was to much; he let some tears go, wetting his eyes. This was Gabriella, the girl he would have died for, and still would, crying because of him. Anger rose deep inside him. "Yes, Gabriella, I ran. That's what I'm good at, you said it yourself. I'm a coward, I'm pathetic, I'm nothing! I know that, you think I don't know that? Do you honestly believe I never even thought about Chad while I was gone? During every single basketball practice! Chad is with me everywhere I go. And do you think I forgot about you? Gabriella, I could never forget you!" He stopped for a second, calming down a bit. "Gabriella, I'm so sorry. I was young and scared."

She started laughing in between sobs. He couldn't possibly be serious. Troy Bolton sorry? Ha!

Troy stood there, slightly taken aback by her sudden amusement in this situation. He let all his feelings go, and she laughs at him! "Jesus, Gabriella!" He stood right in front of her as she kneeled on the ground, still crying. "I'm sorry, I'm fucking sorry!!" Troy felt his shield cracking, allowing the tears to fall down his cheeks. "I'm SORRY!!!"

Using all of the strength and will power she had left, Gabriella stood up and looked right into those blue eyes, now covered with tears. She had forgotten just how blue his eyes really were. Whipping some tears away, she stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Gabriella knew she shouldn't have said everything she had, and she had to show him she was sorry and really was happy to see him. All it took was for him to say sorry, and mean it. Her heart was now taped back together, all it needed to do was heal. She sighed. "Troy, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, you're not a coward. Yes, you were scared, but all of us were. You just handled it differently, and I see that now. I completely understand why you left, you don't have to say it."

How could she understand when he didn't even understand? Troy had been scared, but not the scared that everyone else was felling. People were scared for the families of his teammates, and for him, having been the only one to make it out. He lost his father, his friends, everyone, and he was scared for himself. Everyone hated him, and he knew that, so Sharpay and him took off and left for California right after graduation.

Troy gave a small smile and turned his head. Two small arms made their way around him, pushing him to his limits of self control. She was hugging him. Why? Did she want him to cry? What Gabriella didn't know, is that Troy wasn't fully ready to cry for Chad and his friends. If Troy were to start crying, It would be for Sharpay, so he could finally let her go. She had been the holder of his emotions, and now, she was gone, and again, it was all his fault.

He lost it. She held him tighter as she felt the once strong Troy Bolton break in her arms. This was her chance to be strong, to show everyone she wasn't completely useless. Troy had been her best friend all through high school, with her having been dating his best friend. What she had made certain, was that she did still have feelings for Troy and she had to hold them in. Her feelings for Troy haven't been this strong in years. She loved Chad, she stills loves Chad, but she did have to let go, and Troy could be the one to save her. With every sob he let out, Gabriella couldn't help but give a small smile, knowing she had the old Troy back.

"It's good to have you back." She let him cry a little longer, until he was able to control himself and pull away.

Troy finally pulled away, slightly embarrassed at the fact he had full out cried in front of Gabriella. "I'm sorry." He sniffed while using manly ways to wipe his tears.

She smiled. This really was the old Troy Bolton. "Hey, real men can cry."

Troy couldn't help but feel happiness as he saw Gabriella's face light up. Her whole body seemed to glow, just as he had remembered. Gabriella always seemed to be able to light up a room with her presence, and make people laugh. She was beautiful, even with her tear stained cheeks. It really was good to see her again.

"Well, who say's I'm a real man?" Sarcasms present in his tone.

She smiled. "I really don't know, but, It helped didn't it?"

Troy tried to make himself look hurt at the remark, popping out his lower lip. "Aww, Gabi, you're so mean!"

She felt her heart skip at the mention of her nickname that only Troy was allowed to use. He had specifically given it to her freshman year. It's been 5 years since she's heard it.

The two stood there, smiling at each other for what felt like ages, before Troy felt his stomach rumble, an idea coming to mind.

"Hey, um, I'm kind of hungry. Do you want to go to breakfast with me?"

**O.k, I know it's long, but There wasn't a good place, and I wanted their entire meeting in one ch. SOOOOO, what you think?????!!!!! Let me know, I LOVE your reviews, so ya. I'll hopefully have the next chapter out before the end of the day!! SuzzieD **


	3. Quality Time

**I don't know why, but this chapter was harder to write than I thought. I hope you like it. I know I said this would be out like two days ago, but like I said, this was hard, so ya. Enjoy!!**

3. Quality Time

She didn't want to say no, but it just sort of slipped out. He looked so hurt by her rejection, but she's just not ready to let him back in to her feelings. A part of her was still screaming at him for leaving here all alone. Weakly, she slipped her key into the hole and made her way into the dark apartment.

The apartment wasn't anything special; a one bedroom with a decent kitchen and nice sized living room. She was pleased with herself, on living conditions, but she didn't have a college degree and that scared her. How could she have passed up the opportunity of a life time? She had been accepted into Stanford, but turned them down. A few months wasn't enough time to get over loosing Chad and Troy within months of each other. She was still kicking herself for that. College was her dream, but she let it slip through her fingers. Now, she had no job, and, rent is due in 3 weeks. How will she make up $500 for rent? She already had $300, but $200 is still a lot of money, plus she'd need groceries and the regular living essentials like soap and laundry detergent.

Thinking was becoming too hard as Gabriella slowly made her way into her bedroom and lay down on her bed. Like she normally did, she curled up against her favorite pillow and thought about Chad. To her surprise, she would dream about Troy.

Yes, Gabriella had rejected him, but part of him was still happy. He believed it to be because he had gotten to see her again; something he had believed would never happen. Troy had always wanted Gabriella, ever since he first saw her in the 7th grade. Yes, he had loved Sharpay, and part of him still does, but the feelings he felt for Sharpay were nothing close to those he felt when he was around Gabriella. Sharpay made him feel good about himself and helped him through everything, but Gabriella made him feel invincible; like he good do anything he wanted.

Worn out from the morning's activities, Troy made his way into the kitchen, only to find a very depressed and crying mother.

"Hey, mom, what's wrong?" It pained him to see his mother this way.

Instantly, she was out of her chair and hugging Troy. "Oh, my baby boy, I thought you had left me again."

'Again'; Troy flinched at the word. He had left his mother, but he could never bring himself to do that again; not after this. Troy just held his mom. He never realized just how much he had hurt her till now. Leaving is definitely the last thing on his mind, and he had to show her that. "No, mom, I never left, I just went out to get some air, that's all. I'm sorry. I should have said something or left a note. I'm sorry."

She pulled away and stared at Troy. Was she overreacting? He is 23 and a grown man playing for the L.A. Lakers. "No, don't be sorry, I'm just overreacting." She whipped her tears and headed towards the refrigerator.

"Mom…" Troy sighed. The last thing he wanted was his mother thinking she was doing something wrong.

"No, Troy, it's fine." She looked in the refrigerator, not quite sure what exactly she was looking for. "What would you like for lunch?"

He had forgotten all about his hunger after having seen his mother cry. An idea came to mind. 'You know, mom, I'm going to take you out for lunch, my treat."

Never taking her eyes off the fridge, she spoke. "Troy, you don't have to…."

He cut her off. This was his mother and he owed her. "No, mom, its o.k."

She gave him a look and he returned the look, causing her to laugh. "You're going to lunch whether you like it or not. Even if I have to carry you over my shoulder and carry you into the restaurant like a baby." They both laughed.

She couldn't remember the last time she really joked around with her own son. She really missed it. From the looks of things, she was going to loose this fight, so she gave in. "O.k. fine, as long as I get to leave the tip."

He smiled. "Whatever you say, mom." There was no way he was going to make her pay for anything, but if this was going to get her there, than whatever makes her happy.

Her son really was too much. She headed upstairs to get ready. When she came down, troy was sitting in the kitchen, patiently waiting for her to come down. "So where are you taking me, oh dearest son of mine."

He gave a cheesy smile and held his arm out for his mother to take. "Now that's a surprise, oh dearest mother of mine."

Both of them were excited to have fun like they used to, though Jack had been there before the accident. In fact, this was the first time the two had hung out since the accident. They were determined to have a great day. What they didn't know, was one event would change both of their lives forever.

Extremely full, Troy fell back in his chair and took in a deep breath. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about dinner!"

"ya, no kidding" They both laughed. Lunch truly was good.

Just as Troy thought this day couldn't get any better, his eyes locked with the most beautiful pair of chocolate brown eyes ever; Gabriella. What was she doing there?

Seeing the look on Troy's eyes, she looked over and saw Troy looking at Gabriella. "Oh, isn't that Gabriella, your friend from high school?"

Troy didn't seem to hear anything she said, he was too focused on how beautiful she looked. She was wearing tight black pants and a cute blue top. Her hair was down and curlier than earlier this morning. She wasn't wearing any make-up, just like Troy liked it. He felt as if make-up hid the true beauty underneath. Plus, he hated kissing a girl who was caked with it; it made their face taste weird. As if reading his thoughts, she turned and locked her eyes with Troy's. He felt his heart skip a beat as she smiled and headed over towards him. She started talking, but he was just too amazed by her to hear anything she said.

"Troy? Troy!? TROY!!" Finally letting her voice sink in, Troy shook his head and looked up at her. "Troy? Earth to Troy!?"

"Huh, what?" He felt like an idiot having been caught staring at her like that.

Both his mother and Gabriella erupted into laughter, causing his cheeks to turn a bright red. This caused his mother to laugh even harder.

"Wow, Troy, are you o.k." Gabriella was still trying to hold in her laughter.

To hide his embarrasement, Troy pulled out hid bottom lip and gave baby eyes. "Why are you laughing at me?" Bad idea. Gabriella basically fell over she was laughing so hard, and his mother had to use her napkin to cover her face. He will never live this down.

"Wow, Troy, your attempt to un embarrass yourself failed misseably!" Troy couldn't help but laugh with them. Plus, Gabriella looked adorable with that huge grin on her face. His two favorite women were laughing, though it was at him. Life couldn't get any better.

After they calmed down a little bit, His mother spoke up. "So, Gabriella, are you busy at all?"

Why did his mother want to know what she was doing? He glanced at Gabriella, expressionless.

Gabriella looked from Troy to his mother, both of them expressionless. "Um, no, why?"

"Well, I was just wondering, well, Troy and I were just going to do some shopping and It would be nice if you joined us!"

Oh no. It's not that Troy didn't want Gabriella around, that was definitely not the issue, but he also just wanted to spend some time with his mother. They havn't had mother son bonding in almost 6 years.

"Um, sure, if that's o.k. with Troy and all."

"Absolutely!" Oh well, he wont be going back to California for a few more weeks so he could have bonding time later.

Joining Troy and his mother was the last thing Gabriella expected. She felt kind of bad, since she had said no to going to lunch with him, than agreed to spend the rest of the day with him, but he seemed o.k. with it. After leaving the restaurant, they headed toward some of the stores.

"Oh, Troy, lets go into that one!" His mom pointed out one of the local candle shops.

"Oh no. No, no, no ,no ,no. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!" He pretended to be terrified as Gabriella and his mom laughed and drug him into the store. "Curse you Females!!"

"Oh, come on Troy! You know you love to smell candles." Gabriella teased him.

"Oh, yes. I just love having different scents shoved up my nose. It makes me feel like a 5 year old on Christmas morning!" Troy was joking, but yet there was a hint of truth that only he knew existed.

"I am your mother, and I say you must smell this one." Troy's mother grabbed a vanilla flavored candle and shoved it at his nose.

"ABUSE, ABUSE!!!" He shouted, quietly, as his mother jammed the candle up his nose.

Gabriella busted out into fits of laughter. She had forgotten just how great it was to spend time with Troy Bolton.

Seeing Gabriella and his mother so happy filled Troy's heart. It had been a long time since he had made someone laugh. He couldn't even make Sharpay laugh. Quickly, he pushed her out of his head and tried to have a good time with them. He would have fun, even if it killed him.

Just as Troy thought this, a swarm of people with cameras stormed into the shop and started yelling in his direction.

"Great." Troy groaned as the Paparazzi forced their entrance to get a picture of Troy Bolton with his family, well his mother and a mystery girl. He could see the headlines already. 'Troy Bolton cheating on long term girlfriend Sharpay with mystery girl!'. Quickly, Troy looked over at one of the workers and they pointed to a back door. He grabbed his mothers and Gabriella's hands in an attempt to run away from them. Troy knew that running from them only made them worse, but he was just not in the mood to deal with them right now.

"Troy, what's going on?" Gabriella gave him a worried look.

"The Paparazzi, they found me."

"Why would they want to find you?" Gabriella was beyond confused.

"Look, just go to your car and drive off. Don't say a word. Just get in your car and drive away."

"But…"

"Just go. I'll call you later, o.k?"

"O.k." She trusted him, so like he told her, she ran out to her car and got in without answering a single question.

"Troy?"

"Hold on!" Quickly, Troy grabbed his mothers hand and led her to the car. The Paparazzi swarmed around them as Troy tried to get his mother in the car safely. Just as he was about to shut her door, one of them pushed him away and started snapping pictures. Anger rose inside of Troy as he shoved back and made his way over towards the driver seat. Without killing anyone, he got in and tried to back out. They were everywhere, so he just prayed he wouldn't run any of them over, though it would please him.

When they were backed out enough, Troy easily put the car in drive and attempted to drive off. A few feet later, he was gunning it down the road in the direction of his house.

"T-Troy, what's going on?" His mother was shaking with fear.

Troy was still furious from being pushed. "These fuckers are getting out of control. They just wont leave me alone."

"Why?"

"Because I'm Troy Bolton, an L.A. Laker. They follow me everywhere. I was hoping that maybe I had lost them in my attempt to come home, but I guess not!"

"TROY!!" In his mothers sudden scream, he looked at her. She was gripping the seat and the door. This caused Troy to look in front of him, only to see another paparazzi guy starting to jump out in front of his car, which was moving way to fast. Without thinking, Troy veered the car off to the left. The excessive speed and quick veering caused Troy to loose control of the car and head right into a light post. The airbags exploded, but Troy, in the commotion, didn't buckle his seatbelt, causing him to slam into the airbag with the same amount of force it was already coming at him. The force of the car against the light post caused it to creak and fall right on top of the car.

SOOOOOO, what do you want to happen???!!!! Let me know. I already know what's going to happen, but I just want to know what you think. Did you like the Chapter? I know it's shorter than intended, but like I was saying, I've been having major writers block, till now. The next chapter should be out sooner than this one came out!! Well let me know what you think, I really appreciate it!!!! SuzzieD


	4. Painful Memories

**I don't know what you guys think of this story, so this might be the last chapter of this, plus it's getting hard to write, unless you tell me other wise. Enjoy!**

**4. Painful Memories**

"Can you hear me?"

"Troy?"

"Are you o.k.?"

The earth spun around Troy as he attempted to open his eyes. Looking around, he noticed he was still in his car. "Wh-what happened?" He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Its o.k., we're going to get you out of here. Don't worry."

He didn't recognize the voice, but didn't care. Trying to move, he shortly found that he was pinned to the seat by the steering wheel and the roof of the car, which had caved in over him. Suddenly he was hit with the sudden realization that his mother had still been in the car. He tried to turn his head to try and see his mother, but he was trapped, not allowing him to move his head. "Mom?" He asked quietly, hoping, praying there would be an answer. There was none. Panic rose deep inside Troy as the thought of killing his mother ran through his head. This couldn't possibly be happening. It just couldn't. He shouted her name over and over, but silence always followed. The pressure surrounding his chest grew heavier as he slowly felt himself slip away.

----

"_Yo, captain! Can you believe we're champions, again?!" Chad was just as excited as the rest of the team as he jumped to take a seat next to me on the bus back to East High._

"_Ya, man!" We all high fived each other, celebrating the last game of our high school careers._

"_WHAT TEAM?"_

"_WILDCATS!"_

"_WHAT TEAM?"_

"_WILDCATS!"_

"_WHAT TEAM?"_

"_WILDCATS!"_

"_WILDCATS!"_

"_GETCH'A HEAD IN THE GAME!!" _

"_Great game guys! I'm so proud of you all!" My dad looked immensely proud of his team. It made me feel good to know that I had pleased my father._

_I grabbed the ball that Chad had been holding this whole time and spun it on my finger. _

--

Troy jerked awake as he slowly started to open his eyes. Slowly, he took in his surroundings, which told him he was in a hospital. The walls were white and he could feel a tube in his nose. The tube was starting to bother him so he gently raised his arm to remove it. His attempt at moving the tube was quickly interrupted as a small gasp sounded from next to him. Quickly, he shot a glance to his left, only to see someone sitting right next to him. A flood of emotions took over him as that someone shaped out to be his mother.

"MOM!" All Troy wanted to do was throw himself out of his bed and take his mother in his arms. Instead, she leaned over and gave him a big, but gentle, hug. He couldn't help but let some tears go. After not getting an answer from her in the car, he had come to a conclusion that she was dead, and now, she was hugging him; it was all so surreal.

When they pulled away, Troy noticed irritated scratches on her face and her arm in a brace. Closing his eyes at the sight, he shook his head. "Mom, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

Shaking her head vigorously, she grabbed his hand and kissed it. "No, Troy, this is not your fault. You couldn't have predicted he was going to jump out in front of us, it just happened! Don't EVER blame yourself for this. Promise me."

The look in her eyes was hard and determined. There was no way his mother was going to let him get away with blaming the whole thing on himself. "I promise." They stared at each other for the longest time, before Troy came to another realization; Gabriella. "Gabriella!"

"Shh, she's fine. She just went to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. She's been here everyday, waiting for you to wake up." She slowly began to stroke his hair, calming him a bit.

Did she just say everyday? How long had he been in here for? "Days?"

His mother nodded and closed her eyes. "You've been out for 2 weeks."

Troy looked away and dreaded the question he was about to ask. "Am I, o.k.?"

The look in his mother's eyes showed him that she didn't know, but wanted the answer to be yes. "You're awake, that's all that matters."

He wanted to press the matter, to know if he really was o.k., but then again, if he wasn't, he wouldn't mind waiting to hear it. Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. Looking up, Troy looked right into the eyes of Gabriella. Her eyes were heavy and red, from crying he guessed. He couldn't imagine the pain she was going through, seeing him in the hospital, just like she had with Chad. Chad had slipped into Acoma and had had the plug pulled months later when there was no sign of him ever getting better. That was a hard time for Gabriella; he knew that, because he had been there, right next to her, praying with her that Chad would get better. They had been each others shoulder when the other was ready to collapse and never get back up. Troy began to wonder how, exactly, she had handled him leaving.

"Hey wildcat." There was weakness in her voice as she said the nickname only he had allowed her to utter. Slowly, she made her way to the other side of the bed and sat down in the seat next to the bed.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was so beautiful, even in the stress she was in. "Are you o.k.?" For some reason, Troy couldn't help but feel like she had been in the accident with him, and had been in a hospital bed as well.

She gave a soft chuckle and grabbed his hand. "You're the one hooked up to all the wires, and you ask me if I'm o.k.?" Her smile was weak, but meaningful.

Troy just gave her a smile back. Before anything else could be uttered, a doctor cam in and looked right at him.

"Oh, I see you've finally awoken. I'm doctor Sanders. How do you feel?"

What a stupid question. He was just in a car accident and he asks how he was feeling. Unwilling to start trouble, Troy answered. "O.k., I guess. My neck is a little soar, but otherwise I feel fine."

Dr. Sanders removed the blanket from over Troy's feet and pulled out a pen. Troy was surprised to have not felt cold from the removal of his blanket, but thought nothing of it. "Can you feel this?" Slowly, the doctor touched the pen to bottom of Troy's foot.

"No." This started to worry Troy. Was he paralyzed?

Moving to the other foot, Dr. Sanders did the same thing. Troy shook his head. He guessed is question was answered on whether he was o.k. or not. Dr. Sanders put his Pen away and looked sympathetically at Troy. "You're not permanently paralyzed, just temporarily. There was an impact on you, causing trauma to your spinal cord."

Sighing, Troy asked another question. "Will I be o.k.?" Dreading the answer, Troy closed his eyes and awaited his fate.

Dr. Sanders tried to lighten the mood. "You should be fine. All you'll need is some therapy and good exercise, not that you really need the exercise. You're pretty well built." Troy let a smile go as his mother and Gabriella attempted to hold in their giggles.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Opening his eyes, Troy asked one more question. One he knew he didn't want an answer too. "Will I ever play basketball again?"

Sighing, Dr. Sanders looked at Troy, than his mother and Gabriella. "Not this season. If you really work on your therapy, you could possibly play next season."

'Possibly' the word stuck at Troy. 'Possibly' How could this happen? If he didn't have basketball, he had nothing. He had to get better, he just had to. Nodding to show he had received the information, he turned to his mother and sighed. "I love you, but, I just need sometime to think."

She nodded understandingly and got up, motioning for Gabriella. "I love you. We'll just be right outside."

"NO, no, you should go home." He looked over at Gabriella. "You both could use some sleep. Go home, please, for me."

"Alright, Troy, I love you. Call if you need anything." He just smiled. His mom really did care for him.

"I love you too." He just smiled at them as his mom and Gabriella made their way out of the room. When they walked out, he turned his attention back to Dr. Sanders. "Honestly, how did the media handle this whole thing?"

"Well, they've been hounding the hospital since before you even showed up." He handed Troy the TV. remote to prove his point. Troy turned on the television, only to see his own face, followed by video clips of the crash. Not wanting to be reminded, he switched the TV. back off. "They're all rooting for you to get better." He pointed to things around the room, and only now had he noticed all of the get well balloons and fan memorabilia. "Also, your coach is in the waiting room as well."

Troy sighed and looked out the window. "Does he know?"

Dr. Sanders sighed. "Um, yes he does. Is that o.k.?"

Troy nodded his head. "Yeah, I don't think I could."

He nodded and started to leave the room.

"Hey." Sanders turned around and looked at Troy. "Thanks again, for everything."

As if understanding what Troy had meant, he gave a smile and walked out of the room.

Troy decided he might as well get comfortable since he was going to be here for a few more weeks.

--

Gabriella wanted to cry so bad the moment she heard the doctor tell Troy he couldn't play this season. She knew better than anyone that Basketball was his life, especially now, and taking that away from him was not something he was about to take lightly.

His mother invited Gabriella over for the night. She had said it was for dinner, but Gabriella could tell that she just wanted someone to be there with her while the only family she had left was in the hospital. Sure they both knew Troy was going to be o.k., but just the thought of a loved one being in the hospital was too much.

"O.k., so I ordered the pizza, they have 30 minutes or it's free." Gabriella tried to lighten the mood in the room, but she could still see the worry in her face. Moving over to Troy's mother, she sat down at the table and placed her arm around her shoulders. "Hey, everything will be o.k., trust me. Troy will be out of the hospital in a few weeks and then everything can go back to normal with you two."

His mother gave her a weak smile and looked away. Getting an idea, Gabriella went to the freezer and pulled out 2 containers, grabbed 2 spoons and sat them in front of Troy's mother. "O.k., so I have vanilla and chocolate ice cream that's just dieing to be eaten." Gabriella waved one of the spoons in his mother's face and giggled as she grabbed it and took the vanilla ice cream.

"You know me all too well." Giving a smile, Gabriella took the chocolate ice cream and dug in. "You know, it's been a long time since I've seen you over here, Gabriella." Gabriella gave another weak smile and continued eating the ice cream. "It's nice to see you again."

The two women smiled at each other and stuffed their faces with the ice cream while talking about anything and everything. From Johnny Depp, to wall colors. Troy's mother had been wanting to re do the kitchen for years, but never had the energy and will power to actually do it.

"Well, I still think that Captain Jack Sparrow is hotter than Edward Cullen." Gabriella was dead set on Captain Jack, though, who wouldn't a man that sparkles in the light?!

"Ya, o.k. Gabriella. You can have Jack plunder your treasure, while Edward busts my head boards." They both erupted into fits of laughter.

"This is such a weird conversation to be having." Who has this kind of conversation with their old friend's mother? Gabriella apparently.

"Oh, come on, we're both grown women, we can take it!" Ad for once, Gabriella felt like a real women, no longer a depressed child.

Glancing over at the clock, Gabriella noticed it shown 5:30 a.m. "Wow, it's really early. I don't think I've stayed up this late since high school!"

"No kidding!" They laughed again. Troy's mother stood up. "Well, I'm tired and want to be there for Troy in the morning, well later, so, I'm gonna hit the sack. Feel free to use the guest bedroom. It's already made up."

"Thanks ."

"Please, call me Lydia"

Gabriella smiled. "O.k. Night Lydia."

"Good night, Gabriella."

With that, Gabriella headed over towards the guest bedroom and layed down in the bed, knowing she wouldn't get any sleep. As long as Troy was in the hospital, there would be no sleep for her.

**SOOO, what you think??!!!??!! I didn't personally like this chapter, but they will get better, at least I think so, so ya. Let me know what you think, I highly appreciate it!! SuzzieD : ]**


	5. New Beginning

**O.k., so I decided to keep going with this story. I sort of like it, now that I know what's going to happen!! So, hope you Enjoy. There's more Troyella in this Chap.**

**5. New Beginning**

It had been 2 more weeks since Troy had been told he couldn't play basketball, and maybe never will. He hadn't taken it very well, and had spent those two weeks mopping around and strengthening his legs. Unfortunately, he was no closer to walking than he was two weeks ago. The doctor decided that Troy needed to go home and be with family, and he would have therapy every other day, that's why Troy was sitting in the living room, watching his mother run around frantically.

"Are you sure you'll be o.k. here on your own?"

She had been asking him this for the last week or so. She had to go back to work, and Troy wasn't going to let her get fired from her favorite job, and loose the friends she had made when he had run 5 years ago. "Yes, mom. You're going to be late for work!"

She frantically looked back down at her watch and sighed. "Oh, crap. O.k., Well if you need anything at all, call me and I'll be here in minutes!" She slowly started backing up towards the garage door.

"You won't have to come home if you never leave!" He couldn't help but smile, even though his mother was making him feel like a 5 year old.

"I'm going I'm going." She smiled back at Troy. "I Love you, and call me later, o.k.?"

"I love you too, mom." He gave her a reassuring smile and watched her as she slammed the garage door.

Rolling up to the front window, Troy watched his mother back out of the driveway, wave at him, then drive away. When she was a safe distance from the house, his stomach began to grumble. He hadn't eaten' since 7 last night. Troy rolled himself into the kitchen and made his way to the refrigerator. He had decided he wanted cereal, so when he opened the fridge, he reached up to grab the milk. Unfortunately, it was a little too high up, so when he thought he had it, it slipped from his fingers and the whole carton fell to the ground, busting open all over the floor. "Shit!" He rolled over to the counter and grabbed paper towels. Now, If he could stand, he could easily clean up the mess, but, he couldn't, so he just stared at the ground and watched the milk soak through the paper towels. "Well, that shall do for now."

When he noticed his mother left the cereal out, he rolled over the counter and grabbed the box, setting it in his lap as he rolled back into the living room. "o.k., if I were the TV. clicker, where would I be?" Troy looked around the living room, until, of course, he found it setting peacefully at the top of the television. "Are you kidding me!!? I can't even watch television?!" Troy groaned as he looked around, noticing a broom leaning up against the kitchen wall. Surrendering his box of cereal, Troy grabbed the broom and tried to push the clicker off and into his lap. Instead, he hit the top shelf, removing it and sending every single D.V.D owned to man to shower over him. In his anger, Troy chucked the broom, having it hit the entry table, and breaking the glass.

"What the...god, ahhhh, this is ridiculous!!" Troy was beyond pissed as he choose to just sit in the middle of the living room, staring at the mess in the living room, kitchen, and entry way. "Mom is going to be pissed!" Troy jumped as he heard the phone ring. He rolled back into the kitchen and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, its mom. How's everything?"

"Oh, its, it's just great!" He lied, though there was sarcasm.

"Are you sure you don't need me? I can come home…"

"NO!! No, no, um, no, it's fine mom. I can take care of myself.!!" His mom coming was the last thing that needed to happen at this very moment.

"Um, o.k., are you sure?"

"YES! Yes, its o.k., have fun at work, love you, bye!" Troy hung up before she could say anything. Seconds after hanging up, The phone rang again, he picked it up, expecting his mother.

"Just go to work, o.k? I'm fine without you!"

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, I guess um ya, bye." Her voice filled his ears and his eyes shot wide as he recognized the voice on the other end; Gabriella.

"Oh my god, Gabriella, I'm so sorry. I thought you were my mom, calling again." How could he have been so stupid. Only stupid answer their phone like that.

"Oh, um, o.k." She sounded unsure of why she had called.

"So, um, what's up?"

"Oh, um, nothing, just wondering how you were and all. I was going to stop by yesterday to see you, but I something came up."

"Oh, hey, no problem. I'm glad you called." He really was glad Gabriella had called. The last time he had spoken to her was three days ago, and he had been angry because of the useless therapy.

"You are? Oh, well cool. Is everything o.k. over there? You sounded like you needed help, but didn't want your mom coming back?!"

"Oh, yeah, about that." He looked at the scene around him. "Well, I'm fine, but I can't say the same for the house."

She laughed. "That bad huh?"

"You have no idea." He laughed

There was a pause on the other end before Gabriella spoke again. "Would you like some help?"

Troy looked around and realized his mom would kill him if she saw this, especially after telling her everything was o.k. "Um, if that's o.k. with you? I mean, you don't have to, I just…uh…" Why was he getting so flustered on the phone? It was just Gabriella.

She laughed again. Troy smiled at the noise, not quite sure why. "I'll come over. See you in like 10, k?

"Thank You soo much Gabriella. I owe you big time!" After sating their goodbyes, Troy hung up and looked at himself in the reflection form the fridge. He was still in just his boxers and looked like a homeless person. "Well, I know one thing. I need to change!" Quickly, he rolled himself into the laundry room, desperate to find clean clothes. Just the other day, he had his agent grab his clothes from his apartment back home and brought them here for Troy. He owed her as well.

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTG

Gabriella, just after hanging up Troy, had thrown on some decent clothe and grabbed her car keys. Like she always does, Gabriella tuned up the radio, only to have found 'My life would suck without you' by Kelly Clarkson. One verse in perticular stuck out to her.

_Baby I was stupid, for telling you goodbye. _

_Maybe I was wrong for tryna pick a fight. _

_I know that I've got issues, but your pretty messed up too._

_Either way I found out,_

_I'm nothing without you._

Why this stuck out to Gabriella, she's not quite sure, but all she knew was that she was, for some reason, happy to be seeing Troy again.

After a good 10 minutes of driving, she finally pulled into the Bolton's all too familiar driveway and made her way up to the front door. She knocked.

No answer.

She knocked again.

No answer.

She figured he couldn't get to the door, so she tried the handle, surprised it was unlocked. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in. "Hello?" There was no sound again, she started to get worried. "Troy?" When she turned and looked in the kitchen ,she saw milk spilt all over the floor, poorly attempted to be cleaned up with the paper towel that was laid over it. She chuckled. "How did he manage that?"

"Gabriella?" He sounded far off, leading her to understand why he hadn't heard her. "Hey, um I'm sorry, the door was unlocked, so I just let myself in. Is that o.k.?"

"Yeah, yeah that's fine, just…" He paused. "Don't come into the laundry room!"

Amused, Gabriella slowly started to make her way towards what she remembered to be the laundry room. "Why not?" A loud bang sounds from there.

"Just don't! I'll be out in…"

Gabriella had walked in the laundry room, only to find Troy, half naked and trying to cloth himself with no such luck. He had one leg in the pants he had attempted to put on, and his shirt was stuck around his arm and neck. She couldn't help but smile and let out a small giggle. "Need some help?"

Troy's expression went from surprised to extremely angry in ca matter of seconds. "I told you not to come in here!!"

Gabriella was still holding in her laughter as she tried to look un amused. "I'm sorry. I can go if you like?" She started to back out of the room.

"NO! Um, wait!"

Using all of her strength, Gabriella turned around, daring to laugh at him again. "Yes?"

Troy looked down at himself and sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess I could use a little help."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"O.k., fine, a lot of help."

Gabriella laughed again, but this time, she let it all out. The sight was just too good and he was as red as a tomato with embarrassment. It must have been a while since he had been caught in his boxers. True Gabriella had never seen him in only boxers, and she was definitely liking the view, but he was just her friend and he needed her help, sort of.

"It's not funny!" Troy looked as if he was having a hard time holding in his laughter, and Gabriella was laughing pretty hard, so he sighed. "O.k., maybe it is a little funny, but I am kind of stuck, soo…"

"Oh, right, help." Gabriella pulled herself together and helped Troy get untangled from his shirt. When she helped him with that, she glanced down at his boxers. "DO you want me to help you with that?" She pointed out the fact that he couldn't even put his pants on.

Troy looked at her, the pants and than her again. "Yeah, no, that's o.k." He looked around for something to cover him up with. When his eyes landed on a blanket he quickly pointed to out to Gabriella, whom took it down and placed it on his lap.

When Troy was helped, Gabriella made her way back into the kitchen, Troy following close behind. She stopped in front of the milk spill. "Well, I guess the milk didn't want you to drink it today!"

"Apparently not!" They both laughed. "You don't have to clean that. He was starting to feel bad for having asked her to help clean up his mess, because he was too useless to help himself.

"Well, either I can clean it, or your mom can come home, kill you, and then clean it herself!"

Gabriella noticed Troy hadn't looked back up from the floor and was just staring at the mess. "Troy?" She started to get worried. "Are you o.k.?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "Oh, yeah, I just thought that maybe if I just stared at it long enough, it would just disappear!" He gave her a cheeky smile.

She smiled. "Wow! Have you always been like this?"

He looked confused. "Like what?"

"Dorky!" Gabriella looked into his cool blue eyes and momentarily found herself lost in them. There was a sense of security in his stare and she found it appealing and hopeful. They just stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, before Gabriella had gone back to reality and stared once again at the milk spill and smiled. "Well, I'm going to clean this up whether you like it or not!" She smiled bigger.

He returned the smile as she turned and grabbed some paper towels. "You really are too much, Gabs."

She turned and smiled. She could definitely get used to his nicknames again. "I know."

When Gabriella finished cleaning up the milk, she glanced into the living room and saw all the DVD's sprawled out on the floor.

"Don't ask."

"I shouldn't but, what happened?"

"I lost a battle with a broom and clicker."

"Ah." She giggled again as she made her way into the living room and began picking up movies. Troy rolled out into the living room and stopped right in front of her.

"NO. I can take the wrath for this. You're hear by relieved of your cleaning duties."

"You sure? Your mom will be pissed?"

"I know, but you've done enough already."Troy gabbed his shirt and smiled.

"O.k….soooo I'll go now?" She wasn't sure if he wanted her to stay or not.

Troy looked around and noticed some games on the top shelf of their entertainment centre. "You wanna play scrabble?"

Gabriella smiled. "I thought you'd never ask!" They laughed as she grabbed the game down and headed towards the kitchen table.

"Soo, how was California?"

"Hot! There's really nothing special about California, except that its where my teams at!" At that thought, Troy's head sunk a little.

"I'm sorry." She felt bad for him. Since kindergarten, Troy has done nothing but play basketball, and now that he's in the pros, he gets in a car accident, stalling his playing time. She's never been that dedicated to anything before, but she could imagine just how much he was hurting in side, not being able to play at every game.

"Hey, no, it's not your fault. No one planned for this to happen, it just did. We shouldn't live in the past, we should live for the future. Though I'm probably not the best candidate for that category." Troy gave her a small smile.

Gabriella was the first to lay out a word; hope.

**Sorry it took so long, I just keep getting writers block on this one, Hopefully the next one will be out sooner, but I'm not promising anything. Please Review and tell me what you really think about this story. Thanks a bunch. SuzzieD!! : ]**


	6. So Much For Privacy

**I have no excuse for the long wait! I apologize. There's not much to say so yeah. Thanks to all the people who have been reviewing my stories. I highly appreciate the support. Enjoy!!**

**So Much For Privacy!**

"No way?! What did he do?" Troy laughed.

"He fired me." Gabriella looked back down at the somewhat empty scrabble board and sighed.

Troy's face fell and he pretended to slap himself. He had asked her what happened at Lava springs after graduation and she started to mention how Mr. Fulton had become a real piece of work. She had said that one day she just couldn't take his crap anymore and she yelled at him about how he's an insecure little girl just banging on the closet door begging to be let out. **(A/N: Thanks '17 again'!!) **

"Oh, um, I'm sorry." Troy felt like a complete idiot. Why? He hasn't quite figured that out.

She looked back into his eyes and forced a smile, something she had thought she had perfected the last couple of years. "Hey, no, it's not your fault. I'm the one that said it!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, but, we were all thinking it!"

They both laughed and Troy found his breath hitching in his throat at the very sound of her laughter. He remembered those times back in high school and middle school before Sharpay had come around. They had been close, really close, but something told Troy to stay away from her and he did. Sharpay had come along and jumped on the opportunity to have her. For the first time in a long time, Troy was starting to realize that he never really loved Sharpay, she was just his way out. She was his first kiss his first time and so after a while he had just figured he loved her too. He missed those times when him and Gabriella were best friends. Those times held his most treasured memories.

"Hey, do you remember back in the 7th grade when I had convinced you to climb that tree over there?" He pointed out the window to one of the trees in the front yard. "You begged and begged me to stop asking you but I through a double dare at you."

She laughed remembering the exact day. "Yeah, it was my 12th birthday and I fell off the tree and broke my arm." She turned to him and smiled. "You know, I still haven't forgivin you for that."

He chuckled again and looked her right in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

They held the gaze for what felt like eternity. Troy felt like there was some force holding his eyes on hers. He wasn't sure why he couldn't leave the gaze but he'd be dammed if he was going to move first. He felt secure, together, in her eyes. He felt as if nothing was ever wrong and life was just perfect. He wasn't paralyzed and hopeless. He was just Troy.

Gabriella could feel her heart start to pound in her chest. Why did he have this effect on her? The feelings that were surging through her right now were nothing close to the feelings she had had for Chad. No, these feelings were ten times more intense, so intense that she could barely hold herself together. Her own sanity was the only thing keeping her from throwing herself at him and finally finding out what it felt like to kiss Troy Bolton. She had always wondered, but no one else knew about it.

Why did she want to kiss him in the first place? He's Chad's best friend, well, was his best friend. But, he's just so sweet and he's been through much. He looks so hot in his shirt and messy hair. The muscles he had could just be seen through his shirt. She could feel herself melting in his eyes. Neither one have taken their eyes off each other and it was starting to become a game. The first one to move their eyes has to speak first. But what could be said?

The feelings that were surging through Gabriella were about to unleash themselves when her cell went off. The sound scared the both of them as they both let out the breath they hadn't known they'd been holding and Gabriella reached into her pocket and grabbed the phone.

_Are you kidding me? A text! A stupid text kept me from kissing Troy!! AHHHHH!!!!_

She flipped open her phone and read the text from Taylor.

_Hey girly. Just making sure you're o.k. Did you find a job yet? Txt me TayTay_

She didn't feel like talking to Taylor right now so she decided to just turn it off. Can't chance having that happen again. Than again, did she really want to kiss Troy? What if he didn't want to kiss her? What if her throwing herself at him was the worst mistake she could make? All these thoughts were too much for Gabriella.

She took a deep breath. "Um, I think I'm gonna go now." She started to stand when she felt Troys hand grab her arm.

"No, please, stay." She looked into eyes and saw sadness there. Was he sorry about what had just happen between them? It didn't matter. The tone in his voice was enough to make her stay.

"Oh, o.k." She slowly sat back down. She didn't have any interest in playing more scrabble and she definitely didn't want to play the staring game again. "You want to go for a walk?" He smiled big and looked down chuckling. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" How could she be so stupid? Of course he didn't want to go for a walk, he couldn't!

"No, no, it's o.k., and I really wasn't thinking about that."

"Oh, well, why were you laughing then?"

"Well, if you look outside, you'll see a guy there, hiding behind that tree and two more across the way in that guy's driveway. Also, there's three in that tree and another in the tree that you had fallen out of." He chuckled again. "Welcome to the world of Troy Bolton."

She shook her head in disgust. "You would think that after what had just happened they would leave you alone."

He sighed. "You would think, but these people are just plain crazy. One time I showed up to basketball practice and somehow one had sneaked into the shower area and started snapping pictures as I tried to get dressed." He shook his head in anger. "They piss me off Why can't they just go bug someone else?!"

She saw the distress on his face and walked over to him, rubbing his upper arm. "I'm sorry Troy."

He sighed and looked up at her. "Don't be. It's not your fault." She just nodded her head. "O.k., so we can't go for a walk, but we can go to my backyard."

"Won't they be back there too?"

"Probably, but at least we're safe in the backyard."

"True." With that, the two of them headed to the back yard and sure enough, there were about 5 paparazzi in the trees that surrounded the backyard. "So much for privacy."

"Jesus Christ, what does a man have to do to get some fucking privacy!!?"

"Hey, it's o.k." She tried to calm him down.

"No, it's not o.k.!! These fuckers put both you and my mother in danger and that's not o.k.!" She could see he was really struggling with the whole situation. Being in a wheelchair was really taking its toll on his sanity. Gabriella could remember him back in high school and nothing ever made him react like he was right now. He seemed to be on the verge of insanity!

"Troy, come on, let's go back inside."

He looked up into her eye and immediately calmed down. He didn't know how she did it, but she did, just like in high school. Since she had been dating his best friend, they always saw each other. Chad could never see when he was sad or depressed, but Gabriella, she always knew. She knew his emotions better than she knew Chad's. Troy had never really thought about before till now, but Gabriella had comforted him throughout high school more than she did Chad. There's no denying she loved Chad, everyone saw it, but still. Than again, if he hadn't screwed up in middle school…

Troy shook off his thoughts and followed Gabriella back into the house. He'll try and figure things out later.

"Do you have a room that doesn't have windows?" She asked giggling. The paparazzi made a new attempt to get their desired picture by running up to the windows and snapping pictures like crazy. That was it, he lost it.

He turned his chair to face the cameras and screamed. "Get the fuck off my property! NOW!!" Of course they didn't listen, they never do. He turned his attention from the window to the house phone. He noticed a second cordless phone on the coffee table and rolled over to it. He picked it up and quickly dialed the police.

"Hello?"

"Yes, my name is Troy Bolton and I have a problem. The paparazzi have surrounded my house and are on my property. If the house were to burn up into flames we wouldn't be able to get out!" He felt a little bad for having yelled at the poor phone operator, but at least he got the point across.

"We'll send people over."

"Thank you." With that, he slammed the phone back down on the table and rolled back over to the window. "I called the police, you have 3 minutes to get off of my property!"

Gabriella groaned as she heard on the guys comment back at Troy. "This isn't your property!" He then continued to snap pictures in his face. If Troy hadn't been in a wheel chair, who knew what he would have done. She watched him as he attempted to lift himself up but soon fell back down in the chair in pain.

"Troy!!" She yelled over the noise and ran over to him. "You can't be doing that!"

"I know I can't fucking do that, I just forgot for a second!" He looked up at her and sighed. "I'm sorry, just, gah!!"

Gabriella took one last look out the window and decided to take matters into her own hands and wheeled him away. "Do you have a room with no windows?!" She asked one more time.

"Uh yeah, my bathroom." He growled, still flustered from the whole situation.

Gabriella quickly wheeled him to the nearest bathroom and shut the door behind her. When she turned back to Troy, he had turned himself so he was staring at the wall. She felt a pang of hurt as she watched him, just sitting there staring at the wall. She made her way over to him and sat on the edge of the bathtub that was next to him.

"Troy?" She whispered. "Are you o.k.?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry?"

She started to get confused. "For what?"

"Do you think things would have been different if…" He sighed and looked to his left, away from Gabriella. They hadn't spoken about their past since it happened. To Troy, this seemed like the perfect time to bring it up. "If I hadn't…If I had just said yes."

Gabriella sat up straight, clearly understanding what he was talking about. She sighed and knealed down in front of him, grabbing his hands in hers. "Troy, you don't still think about that do you?" She could feel a feeling come back that she hadn't felt since middle school. A feeling that he had shut down.

He turned and made direct eye contact with her, brown meeting blue so intensely they both had to blink before returning the gaze. "I've thought about it every day since I said it."

"Troy…" She gripped his hands tighter. "If you had said yes, than, we wouldn't have had the friendship we have. Having been in high school, you were the best friend I could ask for. SO, to answer your question, yes, things would be different, but I like things the way they are."

Troy took a shaky breath and sighed. "I've always asked myself why I told you no. I know that at the time, I really had wanted to date you. You were, and still are, so beautiful, and I feel like an idiot for having turned you down. It just terrified me that you had asked me before I had even worked up enough guts to admit to myself that I liked you."

Gabriella smiled at his words. "You liked me?"

He looked deep in her eyes and smiled. "I always have Gabriella, I just forgot."

This conversation was starting to turn weird for Gabriella. "What about Sharpay?"

She noticed his eyes glaze over with sadness. "She…" He took another deep breath. "She was my way out. I…when you and Chad started to get closer and closer, I needed someone to get me through the days. When I found Sharpay, and she even took a liking to me, I found some courage to ask her out. After a while I had just figured that I loved her and left you and Chad alone." He sighed and looked away.

"Troy…" She wanted to comfort him. To prove to herself that she wasn't useless. A pounding on the front door stopped her. She turned to look at the bathroom door. "That must be the police."

He nodded and grabbed the wheels, following her out of the bathroom. Things were just falling apart around him, at least that's how he felt, except when it came to Gabriella. She has been able to show him the light when darkness surrounded him. With the surprise of Sharpay cheating on him, the realization of how much he had hurt both his mother and Gabriella, and now, being in a wheel chair, life seemed to have come to a stop.

Gabriella walked up to the door and answered It for him. There were two officers standing there. "Yes?"

"Hello Mrs. We got a call about a disturbance?" A very tall and muscular officer asked.

Troy wheeled up to the door and smiled. "Yes, I did. Thank you soo much."

Both officers smiled big seeing who it was that had called. "We have cleared the area for you."

Troy let out a breath and smiled again. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I couldn't believe how they just stormed the house and attacked up was cameras!"

The second officer chuckled. "Well, there will be a security officer just outside your property at all times, surveying the premises. You shouldn't have any more giant disturbances."

"Wow, that's extremely generous." Gabriella said, a little shocked that they would do that.

They both gave a sincere smile. 'Well, it's the least we can do for Mr. Bolton."

Troy held out his hand for the officers to shake. "Thanks so much again guys. I really appreciate it."

"No problem sir." They nodded both at Gabriella and Troy. "Have a great day."

"You as well." Troy said before shutting the door. He looked up at Gabriella and smiled. "Well, now that that's taken care of, what would you like to do?" Gabriella gave a small smile back and started to head into the living room. Troy could tell something was bothering her. "Hey, are you o.k.?" He asked softly.

She shook her head. "Troy, what's going on?"

He gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Look, I know you're a basketball star and all, but, you have a quick temper and you're completely different around people now. The old Troy was quiet and never really said allot to people he didn't know. The old Troy also held in his anger."

He just shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just changed al lot with being followed all the time and meeting new people all the time. I guess it comes with the job." She just nodded, slightly understanding, and sat down on the couch.

He wanted to lighten the mood, so… "Soo, who is Gabriella?" He smiled up at her as he rolled up right in front of her.

"What do you mean?" She was starting to lighten up again at his new found happy mood.

"Well, I'm moody and a people person, so you are…"

"I am…um…a human being?" She gave him a look.

His eyes grew wide with excitement. "Really!? Like O.M.G! I always wanted to meet one."

She giggled. He always knew how to make her laugh. Troy's heart skipped a beat at her giggle. This was definitely a feeling he hadn't felt before. It was something he could definitely get used to.

"I don't know, I'm just Gabriella!" She giggled again.

He sat and pondered for a minute. "What's your likes and dislikes?"

She sat and thought for a moment. No one had ever asked her questions like this before so she was caught of guard. "Umm, well, I love being surprised and caught off guard. It makes me feel like people care, you know?" She looked down at Troy and saw him smiling back up at her. "I know it sounds lame but…"

He cut her off. "No, no, no, it doesn't sound stupid. It's just…" He paused and smiled again. "I didn't expect that. I figured you hated surprises."

She gave a small smile. "Well, I don't."

There was a small pause before Troy continued with his questions. "So, can I know your dislikes?"

She smiled big. "Well, lately, I dislike people who disagree with me."

He chuckled. "And who disagrees with you?"

"My landlord." Her smiled soon turned to a frown. "It's not a big deal though."

Troy sensed something was wrong. "You o.k.?"

She looked up at him and faked a smile. "Oh, yeah. So, what about you Mr. Bolton. "She mimicked the officers. "Your likes and dislikes?"

He could tell she was hiding something from him but decided to let it go. She would tell him if she thought it was important. "Well, which one would you like to know first?"

She thought for a second. "Dislikes."

"Alright. PAPARAZZI!!" He shouted. "They drive me insane!!"

She giggled. "And likes?"

Troy settled down and looked Gabriella right in the eyes. He wanted to tell her, he should tell her. Everything in him was screaming for him to just tell her how he felt.

_What the hell! I got nothing to lose!_

He reached over and took her hand in his. He waited till her eyes were fully locked on his before he continued. "I like you."

Something happened in Gabriella's head that made her snap. Before she realized what she was doing, she was leaning over and meeting his lips with hers. A chill when through her body as she felt Troy respond to her kiss. So this was what it felt like to kiss Troy Bolton; amazing, safe, reassuring, and just amazing. She slowly started to stand up, not leaving his lips, and leaned over more so they could reach each other easier. She could feel him deepen the kiss as she felt his hand slide across her cheek and behind her ear.

The feelings surging through Troy at that very moment were nothing he had ever felt before. Sharpay's kisses had been sweet, but there was never any spark. The spark that was still surging through him was the best feeling in the world. He was finally kissing Gabriella Montez, the girl he has been in love with since forever.

Gabriella could have stayed there, in his embrace, forever, but, she suddenly realized what she was doing. She shouldn't be doing this. The last time she checked, Troy had a girlfriend and they were still very happy. She couldn't be the girl that caused a horrific breakup on television.

Instantly, she pulled away and stumbled back. "I-I, I-'m sorry. I don't know what came over me."

He shook his head. "Hey, it's o.k."

"No, no, I shouldn't have done that." She tried to sit up off the couch, but Troy grabbed her hand.

"I didn't stop you."

"But I…"

She was stopped as he pulled her down and met her lips again. He pulled away after a second and smiled when her eyes were still closed. "You see. It's o.k."

Slowly, she opened her eyes and smiled. That had to have been the best moment in her life. "SO that's what I've been missing all these years?"

He chuckled. "And that's what I've been missing?"

They both laughed and stared into each other's. Somehow, some way, they knew they were going to be just fine. If they weren't, they had one another to fall back on for support. Little did they know that things were only going to get better and better, or were they?

**Soooooo, what you think???!!! I apologize again for the EXTREMELY long wait, but this chapter was just hard to write for me. I knew what I wanted to happen ,I just couldn't find the right words. Anyways, the waits shouldn't be that long anymore, I pretty much have the rest of the story already written, I just need to type it and stick on here so yeah. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!! Thanks!! SuzzieD**


	7. Lake Mystic

**Lake Mystic**

He's too good for her, at least that's how Gabriella feels. The rest of the day had been amazing. She had thought that, after the kiss and everything, that it would be awkward being around him but it wasn't. He continued to make her laugh and feel like the greatest person in the world. She had continued to help him clean things up and help him finish getting dressed, even with as weird as it had been. She still was confused on his mild mood swing. He had been so furious with the whole paparazzi incident but within seconds he was back to the Troy she always knew, well sort of. Since he became, 'Troy Bolton' his personality seemed to have changed a little, but she could still find parts of the old Troy here and there.

The most believable part being when he had asked her if things had been different had he said yes to her. He even looked troubled about the whole situation. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that she's happy that he seemed so troubled? She's not happy that he's troubled, but she's happy that he seemed to be wishing that he had said yes to her. That, to her, meant that he just might have feelings for her. Sure he kissed her, but was it just a spur of the moment kind of thing? She really hopped not. She's in too deep now.

Gabriella sighed as the credits started to roll for the movie they had just finished, 'Fools Rush In'. Her and her mother used to watch it all the time. Her mom would be deep in her cleaning mode, but as soon as that movie popped on she would take her spot on the couch and watch it, Gabriella soon following her lead. There's just something about the weird love story that just catches her liking. Plus, she couldn't help but notice how Matthew Perry's eyes seemed to be just as blue as Troy's was. She was glued to them the whole time.

Troy had wanted to sit on the couch with her so she had helped him lift himself out of the chair and onto the spot next to her. Now, she's cuddled up to his side resting her head on his shoulder. She never wanted to move from this spot, but she really needed to go home and think about the days events. She really really likes Troy, but her thoughts of Chad keep seeping through her and questioning if she should really like him. Though that voice is a quite one, it still seems to bug her.

She sighed again and sat up looking at Troy. He smiled down at her, flashing his amazing crooked grin. "I really should be going."

He frowned. Even with this sad face, his eyes still seemed to sparkle. "You sure? You can stay if you want."

He wanted her to stay. Did that mean he like her? She wasn't sure but if he wanted her to stay, well she'd be dammed if she said no. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say o.k., the sound of a car door being closed and the garage door beginning to close echoed through the house. Maybe she could visit another day?

She gave a small smile and looked back up at Troy. "No, I'm sure. Your mom's home now anyways." She started to get up and reached over for her purse that she had discarded on the other seat.

He sighed and looked up at her. "O.k., can I walk you out?" He asked. He was practically giving her puppy dog eyes. He was soo cute when he did that.

She smiled. "I guess so."

"Cool." He smiled big and sat up a little straighter so she could wrap an arm behind him to help guide him back to his wheel chair. He winced a little bit, but he never said anything about it hurting or bothering him.

"Are you sure you're o.k.? I can take you back to the hospital if…"

He cut her off. "No, no I'm fine. Just a little sore. She could tell that he was lying, but she wasn't going to push him. Getting into an argument was the last thing she wanted to do at this moment.

"Alright." She smiled at him and waited to head outside till he was comfortable in his chair.

"Troy!? I'm home now!" Troy's mother shouted as she made her way inside the kitchen.

"Hey mom!" Troy shouted back. Gabriella could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted to get her out before his mother noticed. Just as he was about to open the front door, his mother appeared.

"Oh, hi Gabriella. I was wondering if that was your car in the driveway. How are you?" She started to make her way over to her and Troy.

Gabriella smiled. "I'm great Mrs. Bolton, how are you?"

She smiled. "You know better than to call me Mrs. Bolton. Please, call me Lucille."

Gabriella smiled. "Sorry Lucille."

The two women laughed. "I'm good Gabriella. Thank you." She glanced over at Troy and smiled. "Well, at least I know you've been in good hands all day. I had nothing to worry about."

Troy glanced up at Gabriella and they both started to laugh. There had been allot of crazy stuff happening all day. "Yeah, she took real good care of me." Troy smiled again.

Lucille watched the two laugh and smiled. "Well ,I'm gonna make dinner. Gabriella, would you like to stay and have something to eat?"

Of course she wanted to stay. She loved being around Troy, He made her feel like her life was better than it really seemed. Unfortunately, she still had a lot of things on her mind. She needed to figure out if she should really like Troy or not. Plus, he does have a girlfriend. "Actually, I've got some things I have to do, but maybe some other night. I really appreciate the offer though."

Lucille nodded. "You sure? We're gonna have Lasagna?"

Gabriella smiled. "I'm sure. I really need to get going. It was nice seeing you again Lucille."

"You too Gabriella. Feel free to come over whenever. You're welcome anytime you like." Lucille smiled down at her son before heading back into the kitchen.

"Thanks again." Gabriella shouted after her before glancing down at Troy. He smiled up at her before opening the door and heading out towards the driveway. She had to help him, since there were two step to get down, but she didn't mind it. When she made it to her car, she opened the driver's door and looked back at Troy. "I had allot of fun Troy. We need to hang out more often." She climbed in her car before he had time to answer. A part of her felt that he might say no to hanging out with her, and if that was the case, she really didn't want to hear it.

She through the key in the ignition and strapped her seat belt on. When she grabbed for the shift gear, she heard a soft knocking on the window. She glanced at the window and sure enough, there was Troy. She wondered why he looked a little…hurt??

She opened the window and looked at him. He spoke before she could even. "I had a lot of fun too Gabriella." Without thinking, she reached for the gear and pulled it to reverse. "WAIT! Wait! What's the rush?"

She smiled at him, unsure of what to say. "I really have to go Troy."

"Wait!! Umm, when can I see you again?"

She smiled at him and lifted her foot off the brake pulling out of the driveway. She didn't want to admit it quite yet, with her doubts and Chad, but she was falling for Troy Bolton.

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTG

Smiling was all Troy could manage to do as he watched her pull out of the driveway and drive down the street. He couldn't help but realize that he was falling for Gabriella all over again. Sure he never stopped falling, but the feelings were sort of put on hold for a while. She's just too amazing for him to even try to not have feelings for her. She's everything he ever wanted and more.

He continued to watch until her car disappeared around a corner a few blocks down. She didn't live too far away, maybe a mile. He noted to himself that if he ever wanted to visit her, he could, well, maybe. With the previous paparazzi incident, that feat might be a little harder than originally planned. He finally turned himself around and headed back towards the front door. Unfortunately Gabriella had helped him down the steps and he really didn't want to call out for his mom to help him. There was a sort of ramp in the garage so he decide to try and get in that way. The garage wasn't all that big, a small 3 car garage, nothing special. He was, though, confused on why his mother had soo much stuff. Most of the stuff was his fathers, especially the small Malibu. Troy could still remember the last time him and his dad took that boat out.

"_Troy. Wake up."_

"_Huh?" Troy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He glanced over at the clock on his night stand. He groaned and plopped back down pulling the covers over his head. "Dad! It's 4:30 in the morning and it's a Saturday!"_

"_Oh come on! It's my 40__th__ Birthday and I have a surprise!" His dad cheered as he grabbed the covers and ripped them off the bed._

_Troy curled up in a ball since he was only wearing boxers. "Happy Birthday Dad! Can I go back to bed now?"_

_Jack chuckled and pulled on his 18 year old sons legs. "Thanks you, and NO! Now come on!"_

_Giving up, Troy sat up and threw his pillow at his overly excited father. "Fine! You win!"_

"_Alright! Get dressed and meet me downstairs in 10 minutes!" Jack said before heading back downstairs._

_Troy was confused on why his father wanted to be up so early. Don't adults want to sleep in on their birthdays? Oh well, he thought as he grabbed a pair of discarded pants off the floor and a shirt. He didn't care if they were clean or not. It was WAY too early to ever care._

_10 minutes past and Troy headed down the stairs. When he reached the kitchen he noticed his dad had two fishing poles, a cooler, a fishing kit thing and a basketball."Dad? What's going on." Troy yawned. He was extremely tired still. He had been up till 1 A.M with his best friend Chad Danforth. The two had been friends since pre-school. _

"_We're going fishing." Jack cheered again._

"_Fishing! Dad, it's now 4:45!" Troy whined again._

"_I know, I calculated it to take about an hour to get to the lake." Jack seemed to be deep in thought._

"_An hour? Dad, the lake is about a ten minute drive!" Troy eyed his dad. He was up to something._

_Jack smiled big. "We're not going to that lake, we're going to Lake Mystic." His smile grew at the name._

"_Lake Mystic? Where's that?" The idea of going out was getting worse and worse as Troy kept on his 21 questions. It still was way too early to go anywhere._

"_Now that's a good question!"_

_It took them, like Jack had said, and hour to get to Lake Mystic. After about 2o minutes of driving, Troy had begun to realize he had no idea where they were. They had never gone this way for any basketball games and nothing looked familiar for any family trips. When they reached the lake, Troy was immediately astonished. The sun was just beginning to rise so the sky was a beautiful pinkish color. To top it off, the lake was as clear as you could imagine and the grass and trees were a perfect green color. He felt as though he was ion some fairy tale place._

"_Wow. This is amazing." Troy smiled big as he walked up to the boat lading and stared at the view in front of him._

_Jack walked up behind his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Isn't it. I haven't been out here since I was your age. My dad woke me up early in the morning and drug me out here. We fished all morning long." Jack smiled as he remembered his time here with his own father._

_Troy could tell his father purposefully didn't tell him what they did all afternoon. "And they afternoon?" He was getting excited now. He almost felt honored to be here with his own father. If his father took him here at 18, well than he was glad to be a part of a new Bolton family tradition._

_Jack smiled at his son. "We cooked out and played basketball."_

"_Basketball? How and where is a court?" Troy was definitely excited._

"_I'll show you. It's a surprise."_

_Troy smiled again and walked back over to the boat. He helped his dad get the boat ready for the water. They washed and polished it before finally putting it in the water and speeding off to the best spot on the lake. When they found the perfect spot, they grabbed their fishing poles and casted out. _

_They had to have stayed out there for hours before Troy realized what time it was. He was having a great day with his father. The two had never had a day like this one before and he really enjoyed it. Graduation was just around the corner and the championship game was in 3 days. They had just caught, a total, 5 fish. Life was good._

_Troy cast out again and looked out at the view in front of his again. It was so quiet and peaceful. With the championship game, Sharpay, graduation and just college issues, he was glad to be able to see that there was a place in the world where things were simple like this. That the real world wasn't just crazy and even a scary place. The world had its moments when things just seemed perfect. _

"_Thanks dad." Troy said, looking over at his dad and smiling._

"_For what?" Jack asked as he cast out again._

"_For bringing me here. I really needed this."_

_Jack reeled in a bit before he set his pole in a holder and turned to look at his son. "When my father brought me out here, I was your age and was having a hell of a time, just like you. Our Championship game was the next night and Graduation was only a few months away. My long term girlfriend had just broken up with me, again, and my mom and I had been arguing for weeks about grades and things. My dad had told me he wanted to take me somewhere special so I could take a breather and just think about what I really wanted."_

_Troy smiled. "And what did you want?"_

"_I wanted to win my championship game, graduate, get my girlfriend back and patch things back up with my mom."_

"_Did that day with your dad help?" Troy asked, hoping he would say yes._

"_Actually, it did. We won our championship game and I patched things up with my mom."_

"_What about your girlfriend?"_

_Jack chuckled. "We've been together for 26 years and married for 20 years."_

_Troy smiled. "Mom was your high school sweet heart?"_

"_You bet she was. We've been together since freshman year."_

"_That's cool dad."_

"_Yeah" Jack smiled and looked back at Troy. "So what do you want?"_

_Troy sighed and looked back out at the water. "I don't even know. I mean, I know I want to graduate and I definitely want to win the game, but Sharpay and I are going strong and everything seems to be o.k."_

"_What about college?"_

_Troy sighed again. "I'm going to U of A."_

"_Is that what you really want?"_

"_I don't know dad. College seemed like so much fun till I had to choose which one to go to. It's just so hard." Troy reeled in his line before casting out again. "Plus, it all depends on what happens at the game Tuesday night."_

_Jack smiled at his son. "Everything will be fine. I promise."_

"_I don't know dad. Things just keep getting more complicated the closer I get to graduation. I mean, mom and I seem to be at our limits with each other."_

"_She loves you that's all. She has it stuck in her head that something will happen and you won't graduate for some reason. She's just paranoid like that. She wants you to be the best you can be."_

"_I know, but I just can't take the nagging sometimes, you know?"_

"_I get it Troy. Just believe me when I say everything will be o.k." He chuckled. "Plus, you'll always have me to help you when you need it."_

_Troy smiled at his dad. "Thanks dad."_

"_You're welcome son."_

_When they decided they had fished for long enough, 4 hours to be exact, Jack choose to show Troy the secret basketball court. It took another 5 minutes boating time to get there, plus they had to hike for a good 10 minutes. It was really deep into the woods. _

_When they hit the clearing, Troy practically gasped. There was a full basketball court, benches and a camping grill like thing in this beautiful little clearing. It looked as if no one had been there in years since there were weeds growing in the cracks on the court and the benches and picnic tables looked washed out, probably from the rain._

"_Woah, this is soo cool!" Troy cheered._

"_I know!" Jack took a deep breath and smiled at the sight in front of him. "It's been 22 years too long!"_

"_You haven't been here in 22 years? Why didn't you ever some back?" Troy was shocked. There was no way he could ever stay away from this place now that he knew it existed._

"_I don't know. I guess I just wanted to keep that special day with dad to stay here. I don't know, it's weird and hard to explain."_

_Troy smiled and grabbed the basketball he had lugged out there with. "Its cool, lets play!"_

_They played basketball, laughed, and cooked out till the sun started to set. His mom never called to bother them and Troy had even managed to turn off his cell phone. He was sure Sharpay was freaking out about his whereabouts and Chad was probably wondering where he was, but he didn't care. He was having a blast, believe it or not, with his father. Maybe they could do this every year for his father's birthday?_

Troy shook his head as he realized where the flashback was going. He would never be able to go there with his father again because three days later his father died, along with all his best friends and half the basketball team in the huge accident that Troy still blames himself for. He couldn't deny that they would all still be alive if he hadn't distracted the bus driver. It was all his fault.

In Troy's distraction, he failed to see where he was going and bumped into a box. The box fell over reveling the basketball him and his father played with that day at the lake. He rolled over and picked up the ball setting it in his lap. There was a back door in the garage that led to the basketball court in the backyard. He rolled out and headed towards the center of the court.

Him and his father had spent countless times out there. Sometimes they would talk about stuff and others they would just play basketball. Troy stared up at the hoop. 'Possibly' The word still haunted Troy. The doctors still tell him that there was a possibility that he could play basketball again. Possibility translated to about a 50 – 50 chance. There was a 50% chance that he would never play his favorite game, or any game for that matter, ever again. There was a 50% chance that he would be able to stand next to Gabriella once again and hold her in a tight embrace. A 50% chance that he could have a life.

In his frustration he grabbed the basketball off his lap and chucked it at the backboard. The ball missed by at least a foot and rolled to the edge of the yard. Troy groaned as he watched the ball roll away. His eyes went wide as the ball hit a human foot. He recognized that foot. He skimmed up the leg and the body till his eyes landed on none other than Sharpay herself.

"Hi Troy."

**SOOOOOO what you think??!!! I know it's not a huge cliffy, but I had to do something. If I kept going the chapter would be like 7000 words!! That's allot, though you deserve it. I Apologize again for the long waits. Life's crazy right now. I apologize. The next couple of chapters will be interesting I will say.**

**If You've been following this story since the beginning, thank you soooooo sooooooo much for even reading this chapter, I've been horrible about updating. Thanks sooo much for the support!!!!**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! It helps me build confidence and want to get the next chapter out!! SO please and I apologize again!! Thanks!!!! SuzzieD!!!!**


	8. Good, And Not So Good, Advice

_**Good, And Not So Good, Advice **_

"Hi Troy." She said as she picked up the ball and walked over to where he was.

"Sh, Sharpay?" Troy asked in shock. It had been almost a month since he had last seen her. "What are you doing here?" He didn't know if he sounded happy or angry to see her, he just knew it was completely unexpected.

She gave a small smile. "I wanted to see you again. I saw you at the hospital the day you were in the accident. I couldn't stand seeing you hooked up to all those wires." She stopped and looked away. "I just wanted to make sure you were o.k." She finished the short distance between them and kneeled down in front of Troy.

Troy felt somewhat offended by this small gesture. Never had Gabriella ever gotten down to talk to him. She always stood her ground and treated him as if nothing had ever happened. Sure she helped him, but only when he truly needed it but was too stubborn to ask.

The memories from the last time he had seen her came swirling back. The 'Brad' Character and the fact that he had been planning on marrying her. He was still immensely hurt by this. He was, though, a little happy to see her again. She had been his high school sweetheart, even if the love had only been a lie; at least he knew that now.

He couldn't help but feel a small something as she grabbed his hand with hers. He had spent the past what 8 years with her and all of those years were lost in about 10 minutes. Seeing her was becoming too painful. He pulled his hand back and turned his head to look away from her. "You really shouldn't be here." He said dryly.

"But…Troy." She paused and looked away before meeting his eyes with hers. "I…I miss you."

Troy sat there shocked. She missed him? How could she miss him? "What about Brad?"

Sharpay stood back up on her feet . "Brad? Well, he left me 3 weeks ago. He was sick of hearing me worry about you."

Troy couldn't believe what he was hearing. One, she had been worrying about him? And two, she missed him?

"Troy, I didn't realize the full extent of what I did to you."

Troy shook his head. He didn't want to hear it, He couldn't take it right now. "Sharpay, don't." He whispered.

"You were soo good to me and I let you go." She looked away. "How could I have been soo stupid?!" Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

He couldn't help but start to feel bad. He never liked seeing her like this. It always broke his heart. Sure she cheated on him and broke his heart, but he still hated seeing her cry. "You're not stupid. You did the right thing."

She looked down at him. "What do you mean I did the right thing? I cheated on you Troy. I broke your heart and didn't even chase after you when you walked out the door."

Troy shook his head. "Yes you did, but…" He had to stop and take a breath. This was a very emotional conversation for him. He did still have feelings for Sharpay and the memory of that night was still painful. "Look, I believe it was for the best." He swallowed hard.

"I don't know Troy. If it was for the best than why do I still feel like this?" More tears streamed down her face.

"I don't know."

She sighed and whipped her face. "Do you feel it too?" She asked innocently.

How did he know? He didn't really know if the feelings he had for Sharpay were the same she was feeling for him. He still cared for her, but was it the same, or was it just a friendly caring? He suddenly remembered Gabriella. She had kissed him earlier in the day. Never had he felt that way when Sharpay kissed him. The kiss Gabriella gave him was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He wanted more of it, but she pulled away in panic. Troy smiled as an unfamiliar feeling rushed through his body. Did he love Gabriella? It's a little too early for those feelings isn't it? He's seen her practically every day since he woke up in the hospital 3 weeks ago. She had been by his side helping him and just being there for him. Sharpay had only, well what she claimed, visited him once, with the exception of right now.

"Troy?" Sharpay sounded worried.

Troy looked up and met Sharpay's eyes with his own. "No." He said simply.

"What?" She was shocked.

"I'm sorry Sharpay. I've moved on. You should do the same."

More tears started to stream down her face. "I can't!" She took a breath and sighed. "I…love you…too much!" She sobbed.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head up. When he opened his eyes all he could see was the sky. There were no trees in the way or nothing. The sun was just setting so the sky was a beautiful pink color, some blue still hiding by the clouds. He couldn't believe that all of this was happening. Everything was changing so fast. He sighed and continued to stare at the sky. "No you don't. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be." He sighed again and looked her in the eyes. She was on the verge of just falling apart. She had just told him she still loved him and he told her she didn't. He reached over and grabbed her hand. "We can move on. Look, If you need anything, anything at all, I'm here for you, o.k.?" She forced a smile at him. "But I don't love you the same way anymore. I'm sorry."

She pulled her hand out of his and stared at him in disbelief. "What!? But..I thought…you were going to ask me to marry you?!"

He put his head down. "That was then, this is now. Sharpay, how can I even trust you now? You cheated on me! What would stop you from doing it again?"

She took a few steps back. "What happened to you?"

"What?"

"You're not the Troy I know." She shook her head as yet more tears rolled down her reddened cheeks.

Troy looked up at her. "What are you talking about? I'm the same guy, just in a wheel chair!" He was starting to grow just a little aggravated. Just because he didn't love her he was suddenly a different person?!

She shook her head again. "No, you've become a jerk!"

Now he was angry. "What are you talking about! You're the one who's become a jerk!" She started sobbing. "Did you really think I was going to come back to you? You cheated on ME remember!?" He was practically shouting at her now but he didn't care. She had absolutely no right to call him a jerk. After everything he did for her and she paid him back by sleeping with another man!

She cried louder. "You're an ass Bolton!" She cried. The basketball she had picked up was still in her hands. This was unfortunate for Troy since she chucked it at him before running away.

The ball hit him right in the gut sending a shockwave of pain through his body. For someone as small as her, she could really throw a basketball with great force.

"TROY!!" He heard his mother scream.

He jumped a little hearing her scream. His first thought was that she was in trouble till he turned himself around and saw her running over towards him. "Oh, uh, hey mom." He wanted to calm the situation before she freaked out too much.

"Oh my god, Troy! Are you o.k.? Are you hurt anywhere?!" She made it over to him and started to touch his arms and face and legs to see if he really was o.k.

"Mom." She continued to freak out. "Mom." He tried again. "Mom." He rolled his eyes and grabbed her arms. "MOM!!" She calmed down a little and looked him in the eyes. "I'm fine. It didn't hit me that hard." He lied, but if he told her it hurt even a little she would probably grab him and rush him to the hospital.

"Why did she throw it at you in the first place?!? And who was she!?!?" She started to freak out again.

"MOM! Take a breath and calm down." He gave her a look until she fully calmed and paid attention to him. "That was Sharpay."

"Sharpay? Why was she here?"

"She…" He stopped and thought for a moment. Did he really want to tell her the whole story? Really he couldn't because it would involve him telling her that Sharpay cheated on him. That he really didn't want to talk about for at least the rest of the day. Especially to his mom. "I..I don't really know. I guess I just said the wrong stuff and she got mad at me."

She eyed him as if she knew he was lying, but didn't comment further. "Well, you should say the right stuff next time." She teased.

He chuckled. "I guess I should."

She smiled. "Well, dinner is ready if you want to head inside now."

"O.k."

She looked at him again. "You sure you're o.k.?" She asked.

He looked up at his mom and smiled. He, once again, thought about Gabriella and their kiss. She really was an amazing woman. "Yeah mom. I'm just fine." Sharpay was just a small bump in the road. A road that led to a beautiful woman, he hoped.

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTG

_I love him. Well, I loved him. No, I still love him, but I can't. But it doesn't matter. But it does because I love Troy too, I think. Yes I do. Wait, no I can't. It's WAY too early for me to have those feelings for him, isn't it? But that kiss. There were literally sparks. Not once did any of my kisses with Chad ever feel that way. But Chad is gone, I have to remember that. Chad was Troy's best friend, well, still is right? But he kissed me back and smiled at me. He wanted me to stay for dinner. Does that mean he feels the same way? But what about Sharpay? As far as I knew, they were still together. Oh MY GOD! I kissed an already taken man!! Troy is taken and I kissed him! But the kiss was soo good, and it felt right. But he's TAKEN!_

"UGH!" Gabriella groaned as she grabbed the nearest pillow off her bed and plopped it down over her face. She's spent the past 4 hours just lying on her bed arguing with herself. So far, she's gotten nowhere. She'll start to just accept that she likes Troy, allot, then she'll find a reason that she shouldn't, though Sharpay was a pretty good reason not to.

She grabbed the pillow back off her face after needing some air and looked over at her bedside table. There was bill after bill scattered around it. None of them were open since she pretty much knew how much each was. Each one was about too much money out of her pocket. It's been a month and she still hasn't found another job. All the bills that are scattered about, well, for now, they'll have to go unpaid.

_Shit!_

She went to roll over when a pain shot through her leg. She had left her cell phone in her pocket and the antenna jabbing her hip. She's had the same phone, a nokia, for the past 8 years. Reaching into her pocket, she grabbed her phone and stared at it. After a few seconds, she opened it up and started randomly flipping through her contacts list. It didn't take long to get half way through, she never did have many friends. One name stuck out to her. She knew what she needed to do. There was always one person she could turn to when things got bad and she was in need of this person right now, well sort of. Glancing at the clock she noticed that it was about one in the morning but she still needed this help.

She clicked on the contact and pressed the green button. Hopefully she wasn't asleep. She felt bad for having called here this late, well early, but at this point, it shouldn't even matter. She needed help and she needed it bad.

The phone was answered, revealing a very tired and angry Taylor McKessie. "Gabriella! What the hell are you doing? It's 1:30 in the morning!"

"I know, I'm sorry." Gabriella sighed and sat up. "I'll call you later o.k. I hope I didn't disturb your sleeping too much."

"No, no, no I'm already awake, you might as well just tell me. Plus, I haven't talked to you in a while. I didn't mean to yell."

Gabriella chuckled. "I'm sorry."

"Well?" Taylor asked, some humor in her tone. That calmed Gabriella down a bit. She missed her best friend. Beside Troy, Taylor had helped her through everything and was just the best friend a girl could have. Unfortunately for Gabriella, great for Taylor, she was accepted to Yale University and left her all alone in New Mexico. Gabriella couldn't quite remember where her job was, but she knew she was a high school science teacher.

She wasn't ready to tell Taylor what she wanted to yet. "Soo, how's the new job?"

Taylor giggled. "Gabi…" That was her nickname for her. "You know I've had the same job for the past 4 years. What's bothering you. People don't just call at 1:30 to ask how their job is goin."

Gabriella sighed. "I know I'm sorry."

"Well." Taylor prodded. Gabriella could hear a man in the back ground. Was it a boyfriend?

"Who's with you?" Gabriella asked a little curious.

"That's my boyfriend Chris. We went to Yale together. He also got a job at the high school with me. He teaches advanced math."

"Ooooo, what's he like?"

"GABI!! Tell me what's going on." Taylor was starting to sound annoyed.

Gabriella sighed and rolled over onto her stomach. "I love him."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for what felt like too long. "You love who?"

"Troy Bolton."

"Wa-wait. Who?!" She was shocked.

"You remember Troy Bolton, from high school?"

"Y-yes I remember him, you had the biggest crush on him for forever. I was the only other person who knew."

Gabriella had forgotten she told her that. At least she knew that Tay could keep a secret. "Yeah, him. He's been back in town for like a month and I think I'm falling for him all over again."

"That's great Gabi. Is he the reason you haven't been calling or answering my phone calls?" Taylor teased.

Gabriella started to blush. She was glad Taylor couldn't see her. "Maybe?"

"That's great, but you love him?"

"Yeah, I think I do. He kissed me today. Well yesterday."

"WHAT!! He kissed you! How was it? Was he any good?" Taylor was…excited?

"Actually I kissed him, he kissed me a second time though." She found herself smiling big remembering the best kiss she ever experienced.

"Oh come on girl, give me details!!" Taylor begged.

Gabriella giggled. "He was amazing Tay! It was like floating on air."

"Aww Gabi that's great."

"But what do I do Tay?" This was what she needed the help with.

"What do you do about what?"

"Well, Troy was, well still is, Chad's best friend."

Taylor groaned on the other end. "Gabi, please tell me you're not still moping over Chad. Look, I understand that you two were supposed to get married and all, but that was what, 5 years ago? It scares me that you still mourn over him. It's o.k. to move on. He would want you to. Plus, I'm sure he would have wanted you to be with the guy you always really wanted to be with, Troy Bolton, his best friend."

Gabriella sighed. "I know, it's just still so hard."

Tay sighed again. "I know it is, you tell me every week, but I'm still just saying. Troy will be good for you, I promise."

"I hope so Tay. I can't help but feel this…thing…every time I'm around him. Plus, I always smile when I think about him." She started to smile again.

"Keep him Gabi. He's good for you."

Suddenly an important point came up in her mind. "But he has a girlfriend."

"Oh."

"I know, Oh."

"Well, that changes things Gabi. I can't help you now. Who is she?"

"Remember Sharpay Evans?"

"Oh god, her? He's still with her?" Tay almost sounded disgusted. Neither one of them really liked Sharpay, She was always so stuck up and obnoxious.

"As far as I know. Though he's never mentioned her one in the past month or so."

"Well, I don't know Gabi. This one you're on your own with. If he has a girlfriend than he must be off limits. With him being, you know, 'Troy Bolton' the basketball star, I wouldn't get caught up in that mess. Things could get ugly. But yet, if you love him and all…" She sighed. "I really don't know. I'm sorry girly."

Gabriella sighed and rolled back over onto her stomach. "It's o.k. I just figured I would ask someone for help. You're the first person I thought of."

"Aww, I love you too chica."

Gabriella giggled. "Well, I don't want to keep you from your boyfriend."

"Oh, alright. Well, you should try and get some sleep."

"I'll try. Goodnight Tay."

"Good night Gabi."

Gabriella hung up and chucked her phone onto the phone. Taylor was no help at all. She was no further at answering her own questions than she was before she called. Why does he have to be so difficult?

_UGH!! MEN!_

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTG

"Good morning momma." Troy said as he rolled into the kitchen. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night. His mind had been focused on Gabriella and their kiss all night. He estimated he had gotten a total of 2 ½ hours of sleep that night.

His mom lifted her head up and smiled at him. "Good morning Troy. Sleep well?"

He shrugged his shoulders and headed over to the table where a plate of eggs and toast were waiting for him. "Did you make this?" He asked a little surprised.

She smiled shyly. "Well, yeah. I haven't made you a decent breakfast in years. You're my baby boy. I should be spoiling you right now."

Troy smiled at his mom who was now right in front of him. "Thanks mom."

She smiled again. "No problem. Now, what time is your appointment at?"

Grabbing his plate and pulling it a little closer, he thought that over. "Umm, I believe it's at like 9?"

"O.k. good. Its 8:15 now and it'll take about 20 minutes to get there so yeah. You've got plenty of time to enjoy your breakfast."

He chuckled before shoving a fork full of eggs, sunny side up, into his mouth. His mother should have been a cook. She always makes the best food. "This is great mom!"

She giggled. "Awe, my boy likes his breakfast."

He chuckled again. "Yes, your boy LOVES his breakfast."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "O.k., what do you want?"

He stared back in shock. "What do you mean?"

She giggled. "You would only say that when you wanted something. It's a mother's instinct. So, what do you want?"

He chuckled. She was good. He did have something on his mind. Part way through the night, his mind started to wonder and he had remembered seeing his father's boat in the garage. An idea had come to him, but he was going to wait to ask her, but now she wanted to hear something so he might as well just ask her now. "Well, there is something."

"Ha Ha! I knew it!" She laughed.

He chuckled again. "Well, you still have dad's boat in the garage."

She stopped laughing and looked at him. He had her full attention now. "Yeah? What about it?"

He played around with the food on his plate. "Well, I was wondering if you ever wanted to, you know, go boating with me? The two of us could go out and just enjoy the lake. Maybe I could teach you how to fish?"

He looked up in time to see his mother smiling at him. "Sure Troy. But let's just wait a little longer…so you can heal more."

He nodded. "Absolutely I just thought I'd ask. It hasn't been out since his 40th birthday."

She closed her eyes and nodded. "I remember that day. Your father failed to tell me that you two were leaving." She giggled. "I called you guys and called you guys, but your father had turned the phone off. I remember his voice mail saying, 'I know I didn't tell you we were leaving but we left. We'll be home later tonight. Love you.' He knew I would freak out that you both weren't home."

Troy laughed. "He never told you? That's so him. He was always full of surprises."

"You've got that right."

"Do you remember my 13th birthday? We were supposed to fly to L.A. to go to Disneyland, but instead we ended up flying to Hawaii?"

She laughed. "We couldn't be mad. We were going to Hawaii. Well, I wasn't mad. It took you a few days to get over the fact that Disney was a cover up."

"I was devastated!" Troy laughed again. "But that was a great vacation."

"And we did take you to Disneyland the next year." She laughed.

"Yeah, that was fun."

They both laughed for a few more minutes before calming down. They hadn't had this moment of remembering the great times they had with their favorite man in the world. When Troy had left, his mom just sulked about losing her husband and son, and Troy just ran away. He still felt shitty about that.

He was about to apologize when his mom checked the time on her phone and jumped up. "SHIT! We're going to be late for your appointment." He'll wait to apologize.

45 minutes later.

"So, how are you feeling Mr. Bolton?" Dr. Sanders asked as he walked back into the room with Troy's new X-rays.

"Um, I feel a little bit of pain in my hip, but that's about it." He answered honestly.

"Uh huh." Dr. Sanders put up the new X-rays and looked them over some more. "Well, your X-rays show that your healing is coming along, slowly, but its coming."

"Does that mean I can play next season?" Troy asked hopefully.

Dr. Sanders sighed and turned, looking Troy in the eyes. Troy noted ahead that he looked sorry. "I'm sorry Troy. Either way, you'll still miss out in this next season."

Sadly, Troy nodded his head in understanding. He had to ask, he just had to know.

"How long do you think till he can start walking again? Normally?" His mother asked next to him.

Troy looked intently at his doctor. That was another question he wanted answered. For some reason, Gabriella popped into his mind. He hadn't called her and she hadn't called him. He would have to do that as soon as he got home.

"Well, we'll have to wait and see how the physical therapy goes today." Dr. Sanders grabbed a folder off the desk and opened it looking at some papers. "From the looks of things, your last therapy session went fairly well. You might be able to transfer to a cane in a matter of weeks."

_Weeks_

It was still going to a few more weeks till he could get out of this stupid wheelchair, the only thing that seems to keep him for having a good time with Gabriella. Again, she seemed to find her way into his thoughts.

"Well, that's good news, right?" His mother asked him.

Troy just nodded his head. It was still going to take 'a matter of weeks' too long. "Yeah." She said plainly.

Dr. Sanders just nodded and gave a small smile. "Well, if you would just follow me, we can start today's therapy session."

His mother got up and grabbed the handles on the back of his wheel chair. He was told a few weeks ago that if he was going to be in the hospital, someone else had to push him around. He reluctantly agreed. Being pushed around made him feel useless, something he hated.

When they turned the corner, Troy noticed a teenager girl, clad in a softball uniform, sitting on a bed in the hallway. She had a brace on her ankle and was full of dirt from the field. She also seemed to be pumped full of IV's since she was laughing at something her mom and, what looked like, coach had said harder than needed. The two adults almost seemed to be laughing at the poor girl.

He remembered having to be in the hospital before for a small practice accident. During freshman basketball practice, he had accidently tripped on a stray basketball shoe form one of the girl's players. They had been sharing the court that day. He had sprained his ankle and had to wear a brace for 3 weeks. His team was one player short for 3 weeks too long. He was still surprised when, at the end of the season, his team had still voted him team captain for the next season on Junior Varsity.

"Hey, you're Troy Bolton! I like love you!" She squealed as he rolled by. Troy noticed her softball jersey had a giant C in the corner.

"Sarah! Shh!" Her mother scolded her while trying to suppress her own surprise.

"Oh sorry. Ssssss." She weakly, but hilariously, held her hand up to mimic her mother's quiet gesture. She turned back to me and smiled. "I like love you." She whispered.

He busted out laughing. Seeing this girl just put him in a way better mood than he had been 2 minutes ago. She was captain of her softball team, but was now in the hospital with a sprained ankle. It probably bothered her that she would be out for 3 weeks, but she was still in a good mood, laughing.

"I like love you too." Troy said back as his mothered continued to roll by.

The girl squealed. "MOM!! HE LOVES ME!!"

"Good luck with your ankle." Troy managed to say before his mother rounded the corner leading him to the physical therapy room. He sighed. The girl in the hallway had made him forget about his own problems for a little bit there. This was still going to be a long morning.

"Good Morning Mr. Bolton." A tall man with wide shoulders entered the room and held his hand out for Troy to shake. "How are you feeling today?"

Troy tried really hard to try and remember that man's name, since he had worked with him just two days ago, but kept drawing a blank. "Ah, so so." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, hopefully after today you can say great!" The man said with a smile on his face. Troy wasn't sure if it was because the guy was just a nice guy, or if he was just pretending to be happy. Oh well, at least the guy was smiling.

The next hour was filled with arm lifts and attempts to stand while gripping a pair of bars that resembled gymnastic bars. After about 20 minutes, Troy came to realize that when he put pressure on his feet, a pain would shoot through his leg. He had mentioned it to his instructor and the guy smiled, again, and said that was good sign. It meant he was getting feeling back in his legs. At least there was a little bit of good news out of the day.

"Great work today Troy! You're really coming along."

Troy smiled and shook the man's hand, which he came to find outs name is Justin. "Thanks man. I really appreciate it."

Justin smiled. "I'll see you back here in two days for more. Next time I think we'll focus more on your leg lifts and a little more on standing."

"Sounds great. Thanks again."

"Have a great day Mr. Bolton."

Troy's mother wheeled him out of the room and back down the hallway. He was slightly disappointed that the girl from earlier was gone. She had cheered him up. Speaking of cheering up, Troy remembered he still wanted to call Gabriella. There it was again. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

His mom wheeled him all the way down the hallway till they reached the outside doors. He remembered his mom was quick to steal a close parking space.

"Hey!" A voice called out.

His mom stopped and turned him so he could see in the direction the voice came. Low and behold, the girl from earlier was sitting in her own wheelchair and waving like a mad women at him.

He grabbed the wheels to his chair and wheeled over. He just felt he needed to talk to her. "Hey Sarah. How's your ankle?" he asked as he wheeled up. Her mother smiled big as she stepped to the side of the car and saw him talking to her.

She smiled big. "Well, I broke it in two different places. They told me it was sprained, but after a few more minutes of me telling them my pain was still like a 10, they rechecked my x-rays and saw the breaks."

He nodded. "That sucks."

She shrugged. "It happens. Unfortunately it happened to me during our summer state championships."

"You made it to state?" He asked, truly interested.

"Yep, we ended up winning, I guess. One of my team mates called and said we won. I just wish I had been there to see us win." She started to sulk.

"Hey, well, how did you break your ankle? What exactly happened?"

"Well…'" She started to smile. "I hit a home run and was rounding third when my cleats slipped on the base and I fell right on my ankle, twisting it. My third base coach said it popped really loud."

"You hit a home run?!"

She smiled big. "Yeah, I brought in 3 runs, plus my own. My teammates came and helped me up. I hopped to home plate." She laughed at the memory.

"See, it has to be all your fault that you won. You brought in 4 runs all by yourself! That's got to be something." He smiled at her.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." She smiled at him. "How are you? You're not paralyzed are you?"

"Sarah!" Her mom scolded.

I chuckled. "No, I'm not paralyzed. They say it's temporary, and just today I started to get some feeling back in my legs."

"Well that's good, at least you're making progress." She smiled at him.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"Hey, I may not be the smallest person on the field, and I can't run as long as everybody else, but I found a way to help pass time, since I HATE running."

He chuckled. "And what is that?"

"Well…" She smiled again, happy to be giving Troy Bolton advice. "Everybody always seems to focus on the present with things that they absolutely hate. What I do is think about what will and could happen when it's all over. For instance, with running. Yes, I may be exhausted and all, but I just try and remember that in about 2 minutes, I will be on the field catching fly balls and hitting triples, not as tired as I am at that point. It also helps me forget that I'm running."

Troy smiled. Gabriella could be his giant distraction. If he just stayed focused on seeing her again, well, then maybe he could forget that he was in a wheel chair. Or, if he just kept remembering that the doctor said it would only be a few more weeks and he could be using a cane. In a few weeks he could be out of the stupid chair. He chuckled. "You know, that's the best advice I've ever gotten. I could even use that at my own basketball practices. I hate running too."

Sarah smiled even bigger if that was possible. 'I'm happy to be of help!"

I looked down and noticed her cast. It was a pink with green stripes. At least it was stylish. "Is it o.k. . If I'm the first to sign your cast?" He asked as he smiled up at her.

Sarah almost practically fell out of her chair in shock! "HELL…" She turned and looked at her mom. "I mean heck yes!"

Troy chuckled. "Cool." He was surprised when his mom had a permanent marker out for him already. "Wow, who carries a permanent marker in their purse?" He chuckled.

She giggled. "You never know when you're going to need one!"

Troy laughed and grabbed the marker. He winked at Sarah before finding the best spot in her cast, right in her foot. "How about here?" He asked.

"Perfect!" She giggled.

Troy signed his name along with a smile face and placed the top back on the marker. "Thanks again for the advice."

Sarah giggled. "No problem. Thank you soooooooo much for signing my cast. My friends are going to be so jealous!"

He chuckled. "Good luck with your ankle and congratulations on the win!" He waved at her before his mom wheeled him away and back to the car.

"Bye!" She squealed after him.

"Well, she was a sweet girl." His mom giggled.

"Yeah, she was. My favorite fan encounter."

"I raised such a good boy." She giggled again.

"Man mommy. I'm a man." He chuckled.

"As you wish my man." She giggled. Opening the car door, she helped him into the car and hopped in herself.

Troy reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. Gabriella had been on his mind all morning and decided he should just call her now. When his phone turned on, a message popped up saying he had a new voice mail. He called his voicemail and entered his password.

"You have two saved voice messages. You have one new voice message. First message." Troy sighed. It seemed like it took forever to get to the message itself. "Hey Troy, its Gabriella. I-I-I Ah CHOO!! Sorry, I'm sick. Anyways, I was just wondering how your therapy went. Call me later, if you want. You don't have to if you don't want to, I mean yeah whatever. B-b –b-b- AHH CHOO!! Good bye."

Troy chuckled. Even with a stuffy nose and her sneezing, she was still able to make his heart skip a beat.

"What's so funny?" His mother asked next to him.

He smiled and shut his phone. He would call her back when he had some privacy. "Oh nothing. One of the guys back in L.A. called and had to tell me a joke."

"Oh, o.k." She said.

They pulled out of the hospital and drove down the street. Troy looked over and noticed a sign.

_**Flowers Galore!**_

_**To deliver call 1-800-555-6933**_

Troy smiled big and quickly dialed the number into his phone. So Gabriella couldn't come to him, he would go to her. And he would have a big surprise.

**SOOOOO what you think?? I think this is the fastest I've ever updated this story!! LOL**

**So yeah!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! I really appreciate it!! You guys are all amazing thanks sooooooooo much for staying it this for this long!! I love you guys!! Thanks!! SuzzieD!!**


	9. Campbell's Soup With A Side Of Troy

**Campbell's Soup With A Side Of Troy Bolton**

_As fast as my legs could carry me, I sprinted into that hospital. My heart was racing a million times a second. Not from running, but from fear. I was terrified. Terrified that my fiancé was going to die, unless he was already dead. I love him. I love him so much that if he was dead, life would seem almost pointless. He has to be o.k. He just has to._

_As I reached the front desk, I slammed my hands on the counter. The receptionist jumped a little, having not seen me. "Ma'am are you o.k.?" She sounded sincere, and like she actually cared if I was ok or not._

_I wanted to not go into hysterics. I wanted to calm down, to tell my heart that he was fine, just fine, but as I started to say his name and ask where he was the tears came. That was it. I cried, hard. I put my head down shook it. Why did I keep thinking that he wasn't o.k.? He's my fiancé for god's sake. He's been beat by a complete stranger for "looking at his girl" and was still able to take me home after our movie. He's fallen down two flights of stairs with barely even any damage. He's invincible. Nothing can hurt him, not even this accident._

"_Gabriella."_

_His voice was soft, soothing even. He always did have this way of calming me down even when I didn't want to. I remember this time when Chad and I had gotten into it good. I had caught him making out with the head cheerleader at the party following a big rivalry game. He had claimed that he didn't do anything, but I had seen him with my own eyes. Her body pressed up against his own. Troy was there to chase after me when I had walked into that room and slapped, punched and just beat him. He chased me down the street and held me when I had collapsed on the sidewalk because I had been crying so hard. He was able to make me laugh somehow when all I wanted to do was crawl into a corner and die there. He's been there for me through everything, and now, he's here for me when my fiancé and his best friend is fighting for his life._

_I turned to him. His face, he had been crying and still was, sort of. The tears weren't coming down, but I could still make out the lingering tears hiding behind his beautiful blue orbs. If he was crying than Chad had to be dead. He was gone, he was gone. I threw my arms around Troy and sobbed into his chest. I felt him wrap his arms around me and hold me tight. I felt my knees buckle underneath me. I would have fallen to the ground if Troy hadn't been holding me so tightly._

_He took in a shaky breath. "Gabriella. E-everything is g-going t-to be o.k."_

_I shook my head while still pressed against his body. "How? He's gone! I know he is." I sobbed harder._

_He pulled me away grabbing my upper arm and forced me to look right into his eyes. "Look at me." I looked up at him. He was struggling to hold himself together. "Don't ever say that! He's fine. Do you hear me? He's fine!" His eyes started to water more as a tear started to roll down his cheek._

_I took a couple of shaky breaths myself and nodded. He threw me back into his arms. I could feel and hear him cry the moment I was back in his arms. I couldn't imagine how hard this had to be for him. He was there when it happened. He was in the bus when…when…_

_I pulled away and looked him right in the eyes for what felt like the millionth time. "What happened?"_

**DING DONG!!!**

Gabriella jerked awake and rubbed her eyes. She hated it when she had those flashbacks. Flashbacks of the night she found out she was going to lose her fiancé. That was the first time, though, that her flashbacks included Troy. She always remembered getting the phone call, or the funeral, but this time she remembered seeing Troy fall apart alongside her, and yet was still able to comfort her.

She sat up and groaned. Her head felt heavy with her sinuses. She had developed a cold the other day, one she only gets about every other year. Getting sick, to her, felt like the end of the world. She pressed her hands up against the sides of her head in an attempt to squash the terrible pounding in her head.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Troy had never called her back last night. She figured it was because he had been at physical therapy all day and was probably exhausted, but still. With everything that had happened the other day, the kiss and him telling her that he liked her, well she just thought he would call back. Maybe, she thought, she was reading too much into it. She only figured out she had feelings for him, again, yesterday.

**DING DONG!!!**

Gabriella groaned and jumped out of bed. Who in the world could possibly be bugging her at…

She glanced over at her clock.

"7:30!! UGH!"

She grabbed a robe off the floor and headed towards the front door. To say she was annoyed would be an understatement. When she reached the door, she flung it open. "WHAT!!"

To her surprise, Troy was standing just outside the door, holding a single rose.

"Oh hey"

WAIT!! He was standing!!??

"TROY! You're standing!" She cheered. She was about to throw herself at him when he quickly threw up one of his arms.

"NO!! no, don't!" He said. There was pain in his voice.

"Oh my god, are you o.k.?" She asked a little worried now.

He slowly nodded his head and handed her the rose. "Th—this is f-for you." He was defiantly in a lot of pain, buts she did't want to be too rude. He was in pain for her. That's sort of sweet.

"Oh. Thank you T-t-t …" She quickly tried to take a few breaths to stop from sneezing. It worked for now. "Troy."

He nodded quickly with a pained smile and gasped. "O.k. please put me down now."

"Huh?"

"You should have said something earlier." A voice came from behind him.

Someone else came from around the corner and pulled Troy's wheelchair up to him. One of Gabriella's neighbors was behind him holding him up. "No kidding. Are you sure you're o.k.?" The man asked concerned.

"Ye…yeah, I'm fine. Thank you so much though." Troy managed to squeak out through his clenched teeth.

"Anything for Troy Bolton!" The man slapped him in the back. Troy cringed. "Oh, sorry man." The man looked up at Gabriella and smiled. "Good man you got here. Lots of money." Gabriella giggled while Troy shook his head side to side in embarrassment. "And when I say money, I mean LOTS of money. He's like rich with cars…"

"PLEASE!!" Troy cleared his throat. "Please, stop. Thank you so much for your help, but I think I can take it from here."

The man nodded and smiled. "Oh, right, right. Good luck man. Try and score that tonight!" With that the man walked back into his apartment which was a few doors down.

Gabriella busted out laughing, not only from what the gentleman had said, but at Troy's expression. His face was stuck in an 'O' shape, with surprise and horror written all over it. When the man shut the door, Troy slowly grabbed the wheels of his chair and started to wheel away.

"Hey..where are you going?" He couldn't just leave could he?

He continued to roll away. "To dig a hole and burry myself in it. Very deep. Maybe I'll reach the core and I can the burn to death. Yeah, that should do it."

Gabriella giggled and ran after him. "Oh come on, he wasn't that bad. He was just trying to help." She reached him and jumped out in front of him. "It was really nice of you to stop by too. You didn't have to." Yes he did, she thought.

He stopped and looked down at his lap. "That was probably the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. The whole incident was supposed to be just a little more, well, nicer than that."

Gabriella giggled again. "It was nice, hilarious, but also nice."

He chuckled. "Well, you are smiling so that's a plus." He flashed her his amazing crooked smile.

She suddenly remembered something. "Yeah, but now I'm not!"

He was worried. "Huh?"

"Troy, it's 7:30 in the morning. You couldn't have waited till like 8 to make me laugh at you?" She couldn't help but smile.

"Oh. Ha ha. Laugh at the cripple." He smiled.

"Yes, I will. Ha. Ha. Ha." She giggled. He laughed. "Alright Wildcat, let's get back to my apartment."

He smiled. "You called me Wildcat."

She nodded in confusion. "Yeah, I always used to."

He shrugged with the smile still on his face. "I know, but, you haven't said it in like a month or so." He shrugged again and started to wheel over to the door. "It's no big deal, it's just nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah. It's like you've forgiven me for everything." She followed him into the apartment and into her living room. He rolled to the center of the room and turned around. "Nice place."

"Hey now. It may not be a pent house and all, but it's still mine."

He shook his head as if he was sorry. "I didn't mean it like that…."

She giggled. "It's o.k. Troy. I know you didn't mean it that way."

He smiled at her. She smiled back and walked up to him. He started to chuckle. "What?"

He lightly coughed and pointed at her. "You um…"

"What?" She looked down at her shirt and realized she was still in her pajamas. "Oh…" He started to chuckle. "Hey, I do recall a time when you couldn't even dress yourself!" She quickly reminded him. Immediately, he shut up. She busted out laughing.

"Yeah well…" He stopped. His facial expression showed he was really trying to come up with a comeback, but in the end, he didn't have one. "Yeah, I got nothing."

She giggled. "But really, what do I have to forgive you for?"

He shrugged and looked at the floor. "I can't imagine how much I hurt you when you left. I mean, you did show me when I saw you at the grave yard, but still. I wasn't there for you like I had promised. I'm so sorry."

She was starting to feel bad. After she blew up at him a the grave yard, a new feeling of understanding washed over her. She finally realized why, exactly, he had run from her and everybody. He had no one, but her. Even his best friend was gone, and his father. The only person left was the person who didn't love him the way he loved her. He needed to get away from everything. Everything that reminded him of his past. She was part of that past. She needed to show him that it was o.k. That it was o.k. that he ran when all she wanted to do was run.

"Troy…" She walked over to him and kneeled down beside him, grabbing his hand. She noted how his head shot up to meet her eyes the moment she touched his skin. "I forgave you long ago. Plus, there was nothing to forgive for. Your way of grieving was leaving, I just never realized it till then."

He nodded his head and looked back at the floor. This was it. This was her chance to show him she really cared, again. To kiss him again, plus, it had been on the back of her mind since it happened. IN a slow movement, she leaned over and met his lips with hers. This kiss was even better than the kiss before, if that was even possible. There's no denying she has feelings for him. She can't keep denying herself what has always been there.

Almost immediately, he responded to the kiss. Being lost in the world of Troy Bolton was, to her, the best feeling life could offer. She never knew that someone could feel like this while kissing another human being. She never knew that kissing someone you've always loved could have these effects. He could be hers, at last.

As if on cue, she pulled away and jumped to her feet, taking a few steps back. "Wha-what's wrong?" He asked a little breathless from their kiss.

"No, no…no, nO, NO!" She started to pace back and forth.

"Gabriella? What's wrong?" He was starting to get extremely nervous.

"You, and her, and you, and ME!"

"What? Gabriella? You're not making any sense."

"Sharpay!" She practically screamed at him, well, shouted at him. To her it was screaming, but in reality it was more of a quiet shout.

Troy shook his head. "What about Sharpay?"

"You guys are dating." How could she have kissed a taken man, again. She told herself not to mess with this type of situation and here she is, messing with it.

Troy continued to shake his head. "No."

Gabriella made a dead stop and turned to him. "No?"

Troy was still shaking his head. "No." He looked almost pained by this as well.

"But…"

"No." He interrupted her. His 'no' was also a cue to stop asking what was going on.

She simply nodded her head. "No."

"She…broke up with me….two months ago."

Gabriella could tell he was leaving something out. People don't just brake up after dating for 5 years. They just don't. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"NO! um, no. That's o.k." He shook his head and continued to stare at the floor.

SO far, this trying to make her feel better by having a good day was just not working out so well. She could tell that he was trying, but of course, she just had to open her big mouth and ask that stupid question. She was enjoying an amazing kiss with Troy but no, she had to go and ruin it. Why must their lives be filled with so much drama?!

She walked back over to him and placed her hand back on his. "I'm here you know."

He smiled up at her. "And that makes me feel better all at once."

She giggled and kept the stare. His blue eyes were just so fascinating to stare into. If you didn't get lost in those eyes, well than you're just not human.

"I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a good day, not a depressing day." He kept his stare on the floor.

She could easily tell that the mention of Sharpay threw him for a loop. He looked depressed and just, well, She didn't quite know. In fact, he sort of looked like he was fighting another internal battle. She wished he would just tell her.

She shook her head. "Trust me. I've laughed enough in the past 10 minutes to last me a life time." She giggled again.

He chuckled. "Yeah, maybe I should just embarrass myself. That gets you to smile all the time."

"You're right. You should." They laughed. "Well ,what's on the agenda Mr. Bolton." She imitated the police men from the other day. "Taking me on a date?"

He smiled big at her. "Well, I do have this thing for you."

"Huh?" Was he going to tell her what she wanted to hear. Wait, no, she didn't want to hear it, right?

He laughed and reached over behind him. She never noticed before how he had a back pack back there. It seemed to be pretty handy for him too. That way he wouldn't have to carry things while he was steering himself. Speaking of steering himself, how in the world did he get here? There's at least a mile or two between the two homes.

"Ah HA!" He swung his arm back around and handed her a can. "It's a delicious bowl of Campbell's Soup!"

She giggled. "You're too much Troy."

"Well…" He started to wheel himself into the kitchen. "You took care of me when I needed it, so I'm going to take care of you when you need it!"

She giggled. "We'll see about that." She started to follow him into the kitchen.

He set the can down on the stove and turned to see her heading right towards him. "No, no, no, no, no!" He wheeled to meet her in the middle and motioned with his hands for her to turn around. "No, go back in there." He pointed to the living room.

"Troy…" She didn't want to leave her kitchen in his command. Who knew if he could really cook.

"No! Now go!"

She giggled and turned, heading back into the living room. "You're impossible Bolton!"

He chuckled. "You know it!"

She walked to the middle of the room and smiled at him. "So what now?"

He playfully rolled his eyes. "Sit please." She smiled at him. "ON! The couch."

She busted out giggling. "You know me too well."

He laughed. "I should have known you were going to be difficult.

"Yes. Yes you should have." She continued to giggle as she reached the couch and sat down. Thankfully there was already a blanket there that she could cover up with. He grabbed the blanket and attempted to cover her with it. "Thank you Troy. Really."

He winked at her. "'Tis my pleasure ma'am." She giggled. This was definitely going to be interesting. "Now…" He pointed at her and smiled. "You stay here while I make a delicious bowl of Campbell's Soup."

She giggled again and nodded. "Yes Sr.!"

He chuckled and headed into the kitchen. When he wasn't looking, Gabriella touched her lips, still being able to feel the kiss. She craved to kiss him again.

**BANG!!!**

She giggled. "Do you need some help in there?"

"NO!! No, It's all good." It sounded like he was dropping things. "AH! Shit!"

She giggled again. "If you burnt yourself on the stove, you should know that it gets hot when you turn it on!"

"Ha Ha Ha…" She heard him place the pot on the stove and murmer something barely audible like… "I should make note of that."

"Wow." She giggled.

"Shut up, no one likes you." He chuckled. She laughed. He dropped something again. "Ah HA!! I got it!"

"Are you sure?" She giggled.

He rolled back into the living room and parked himself right in front of her. "I'm pretty sure. But just in case, do you have a fire extinguisher?"

"TROY!"

He laughed. "Kidding, haha, but seriously."

She laughed and shook her head. "You're crazy Wildcat."

"Crazy enough to do this?" He started to lean in closer to her. He was going to kiss her again.

She pulled. "Troy, I'll get you sick."

He smiled at her and placed a hand on her cheek. "It's worth it if it means I get to kiss you."

It was happening all over again, but this time, there would be no interruptions. Nothing, and that means nothing, could stop her now from taking in all of Troy Bolton and his glory. He leaned over and pressed his lips back against hers. He was leaning over pretty far. To make thing easier, and plus she really wanted to, she scooted farther forward and placed a hand behind his head and grabbed at the hairs there. She was satisfied when she heard him moan into her mouth. This was exactly what she wanted.

When she completely opened her mouth to let him take entrance, his hot breath took over every one of her senses. How is it possible that he is able to do this to her? To make her weak at the knees? To make her crave more?

A sudden loud sizzling noise came from the kitchen followed by the smoke detector alarm. Quickly, she pulled back.

"Shit!" Gabriella laughed as he quickly wheeled back into the kitchen to turn down the heat.

"Hurry!" She laughed after him. Part of her wanted him to hurry because she didn't want the smoke detector to go off, but another wanted him to hurry because she wasn't done kissing him just yet. She had just found out that he was single. Well, hopefully not for long. If he's kissing her already, well, hopefully she gets something out of it. If she's so happy that he's single, than why does she feel like she's betraying Chad?

"Phew! That could have been bad." He chuckled and made his way back over. She simply smiled at him. He smiled back and rolled even closer than before. "Can you help me onto the couch?" He asked.

Gabriella nodded and stood up, positioning herself behind him. Like last time, she would grip his armpits and help him lift himself up while he used his hands to grab the couch and turn himself around. He was heavy, sort of, but that wasn't exactly why she was having a hard time lifting him up. She was still in a daze from their kiss and now she was touching his body. Not just touching his body, but she could feel all the muscles. She was getting dizzy just from helping him onto the couch.

He plopped down and turned himself. "I think I could feel a little bit more in my legs?" He said excitedly.

Gabriella sat down beside him and smiled. "You could be walking in no time!"

"Actually, that's what the doctor said. He told me I could be using a cane in a matter of weeks." His face was lighting up like a kids on Christmas morning.

"That's great Troy! I wonder how wobbly you'll be at first. It could be your first steps all over again!" She teased him.

"You really like to tease me don't you?" He chuckled.

She giggled. "It's just so easy to do. Even in high school it was easy to do."

He smiled big at her. Gabriella couldn't help but notice how his eyes seemed to change. As if he was looking right at her, but not at her at all. She didn't feel it was a bad thing, but it was sort of weird. "Troy?" No answer. He was definitely in another world. "Troy!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Where were we?" He asked a little confused.

"I don't know? Where were we?" She teased.

"Stop teasing me?" He pretended to whine. She giggled again.

"I'm sorry." She giggled.

"No you're not." He stuck out his lower lip. He really has his moments.

"Sorry enough to do this?" This time, Gabriella leaned over and kissed him. He was sort of surprised, but it didn't take very long for him to respond to the kiss. He placed a soft hand to her cheek and slowly moved forward so his body was even closer to hers. Her heart was racing a billion times a second. It's as if none of this was real. She was, again, in the arms of Troy Bolton and couldn't get enough of it. Could this be a dream?

**BEEP! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!**

The smoke alarm started to go off again. Troy wasn't kidding when he said she might need to know where the fire extinguisher was. She didn't want to move. Hell, the house could be burning down and she still wouldn't want to move. So why was she moving away right now?

"Just leave it." He breathed and attempted to kiss her again. Gabriella was surprised that she was able to pull away.

"Troy, it's going to burn and set the sprinklers off."

"So what?" He leaned in again.

She placed her hand on his chest to keep him away. "Troy…"

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine. Stay here."

Gabriella smiled after him as he rolled back into the kitchen. "Thanks again Troy, for the soup and coming over to check on me."

She heard him sigh. "It was my pleasure. But, I think the soup might be out of the question." She heard him curse. She stood up and started to head into the kitchen. Who ruins soup? "NO! You shouldn't be up and moving. Go away!" He tried to get her to go back into the living room.

She giggled. "I can't have you burning this place down. Plus, after your visit, I'm starting to feel a lot better."

He smiled big. "Oh, so you feel better now?"

She smiled. "Immensely."

He rolled over to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm glad."

She was, once again, finding herself locked in a gaze with him. It seems to be happening a lot. She could feel his thumb against the back of her hand, sending shockwaves across her body. It still amazes her that he has this effect on her. Never does she want him to let go of her. Never, does she want him to leave her side. Never does she want to give this up like she had before.

No matter what anybody says…

Gabriella Montez is in love with Troy Bolton.

**Alright, Chapter 9!! What did you think? IS Gabriella's feelings moving too fast? I would love to know what you think? I'm sort of at a loss of what should happen next, and I would LOVE it if you guys could give me some ideas? ANYTHING!!! So yeah! Thanks again SOOOOO much for sticking with me through this story. I know I've been really bad about updating and all and I apologize. It means allot that I still have readers. Thanks again!! SuzzieD! : - ) **


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